Sensor Technologies - Artificial Human Sensors: Science and Applications - page 102

the mouth compared to the extremities. The different parts of the body, as in the
creation of the temperature scale, has historically been of significant interest, for
example Newton (in 1701) suggested a scale with two fixed points, one zero point
when ice is melting and the second point at the armpit of a “healthy Englishman”.
Also Fahrenheit suggested a second point for his 96 ◦ scale as the temperature of a
“healthy man”, Fraden (1993). (However, in 1742, a Swedish astronomy professor
Anders Celsius suggested a 100 ◦ scale with the fixed melting point of ice and of
boiling water.)
Therefore, the indirect result of a temperature change will affect our aware-
ness and make us feel as sick as the temperature diverges from “normal tempera-
ture”. The quantitative value, i.e., the difference between actual and normal body
temperature, gives rise to a qualitative value of the momentary feeling, e.g., I feel
really sick.
Also in this situation of being aware of your internal ability, it is of impor-
tance to know the personal perceptual characteristics, in order to make an indi-
vidual adaptation and adjust to various situations. The perceptual acuity may be
compensating by additive functions that improve the single abilities which also
improve the general perceptual impression.
For example, if a doctor tells you that the slightly increased temperature
mainly depends on the fact that it is very hot in the bedroom (measured
environment). But additional indications like red eyes, a red nose and an illus-
trative body language probably provide in a more indicative point that you may
have caught a cold.
The cause and effects of a situation where the human is playing an active part
may not always be related and the connections may not be obvious, as it seems.
The main understanding in interacting with a complex system, e.g., a car, train or
plane may in the long run be a question of how we manage the situation and to
what degree we have control of the situation. As moving with incredible speeds,
that is indeed not adapted to the human perception, onboard fast trains or air-
planes then our perception tells us that we need (or at least try) to have control.
Even the pilots in the cockpit do not have direct perceptional control of the com-
plete physical properties when flying an airplane. They are extensively depend-
ing on the systems' performance of transforming the physical properties to instru-
ments and systems' ability to communicate with the operators. But also the inter-
action between systems in demanding situations requires an adaptable communi-
cation protocol. In literature, human perceptual acuity has been shown to be an
increasing challenge, e.g., Kikukawa (1999). This indicates the problem of human
interaction with advanced sensor systems without considering the human limita-
tions and indeed the disparity that occur in an individual's perceptual sensing.
The applications illustrated intend to provide the understanding of human
limitations and behaviour in order to maintain and maybe also strengthen the
individual's awareness of the context. Too many misunderstandings and mistakes
occurs due to specific situations where individual performance is considered uni-
form, and also that we have a general understanding in the solving of specific