A compensatory tracking task is a task that assesses

eye–hand coordination Eye–hand coordination (also known as hand–eye coordination) is the coordinated control of eye movement with hand movement and the processing of visual input to guide reaching and grasping along with the use of proprioception of the hands to ...

, in which a user is operating a display that has an indicator and a zero point using a

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

, computer mouse,

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the on ...

, or other controlling device. The user must try to keep the indicator within the zero point while the indicator is being acted upon by outside forces. Early versions of compensatory tracking tasks included a display made of an cathode ray oscilloscope with a

rack and pinion A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the '' pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven ...

connected to a knob that controlled the indicator. The zero point would be displayed on the cathode ray tube. The participant would turn the knob in order to keep the indicator within the zero point. Time, and distance from the zero point are measured to determine the participant's ability to control the indicator. The early versions of this test were used to help develop better controls. Control modulators such as springs, generators, and electromagnets were used to increase difficulty of the task. More recently, compensatory tracking tasks has been used to gauge alertness. This is done using a computer monitor and a simulation controlled by a mouse or

. Participants use the mouse to keep the indicator within a target which acts as the zero point. Time within the zero point and distance from the zero point are once again measured. Notable versions of the compensatory tracking task are COMPTRACK, and the PEBL compensatory tracking task.

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