UNDERSTANDING AND MODELING MAN-MACHINE INTERACTION

This paper gives an overview of the current state of the art in man-ma chine system interaction studies, focusing on the problems derived fro m highly automated working environments and the role of humans in the control loop. In particular, it is argued that there is a need for sou nd approaches to the design and analysis of man-machine interaction (M MI), which stem from the contribution of three expertises in interfaci ng domains, namely engineering, computer science and psychology: engin eering for understanding and modelling plants and their material and e nergy conservation principles; psychology for understanding and modell ing humans an their cognitive behaviours; computer science for convert ing models in sound simulations running in appropriate computer archit ectures.