QuestPlus: A MATLAB Implementation of the QUEST+ adaptive Psychometric Method

QuestPlus is a MATLAB implementation of the QUEST+ adaptive psychometric method. It provides a rapid and flexible method of estimating the parameters of a psychophysical model, and is also capable of advising the user on the most appropriate stimuli to present, and on when to terminate testing. Of particular note is the algorithm’s ability to use prior information, its ability to determine the maximally informative stimulus on each trial, its ability to fit arbitrarily complex models, and its ability to vary multiple stimulus properties simultaneously

A tutorial on cue combination and Signal Detection Theory: Using changes in sensitivity to evaluate how observers integrate sensory information

Many sensory inputs contain multiple sources of information (‘cues’), such as two sounds of different frequencies, or a voice heard in unison with moving lips. Often, each cue provides a separate estimate of the same physical attribute, such as the size or location of an object. An ideal observer can exploit such redundant sensory information to improve the accuracy of their perceptual judgments. For example, if each cue is modeled as an independent, Gaussian, random variable, then combining Ncues should provide up to a √N improvement in detection/discrimination sensitivity. Alternatively, a less efficient observer may base their decision on only a subset of the available information, and so gain little or no benefit from having access to multiple sources of information. Here we use Signal Detection Theory to formulate and compare various models of cue-combination, many of which are commonly used to explain empirical data. We alert the reader to the key assumptions inherent in each model, and provide formulas for deriving quantitative predictions. Code is also provided for simulating each model, allowing expected levels of measurement error to be quantified. Based on these results, it is shown that predicted sensitivity often differs surprisingly little between qualitatively distinct models of combination. This means that sensitivity alone is not sufficient for understanding decision efficiency, and the implications of this are discussed

Method for determining thermo-physical properties of specimens

The square root of the product of thermophysical properties q, c and k, where p is density, c is specific heat and k is thermal conductivity, is determined directly on a test specimen such as a wind tunnel model. The test specimen and a reference specimen of known specific heat are positioned at a given distance from a heat source. The specimens are provided with a coating, such as a phase change coating, to visually indicate that a given temperature was reached. A shutter interposed between the heat source and the specimens is opened and a motion picture camera is actuated to provide a time record of the heating step. The temperature of the reference specimen is recorded as a function of time. The heat rate to which both the test and reference specimens were subjected is determined from the temperature time response of the reference specimen by the conventional thin-skin calorimeter equation

On Lattices of Varieties of Restriction Semigroups

The left restriction semigroups have arisen in a number of contexts, one being as the abstract characterization of semigroups of partial maps, another as the ‘weakly left E-ample’ semigroups of the ‘York school’, and, more recently as a variety of unary semigroups defined by a set of simple identities. We initiate a study of the lattice of varieties of such semigroups and, in parallel, of their two-sided versions, the restriction semigroups. Although at the very bottom of the respective lattices the behaviour is akin to that of varieties of inverse semigroups, more interesting features are soon found in the minimal varieties that do not consist of semilattices of monoids, associated with certain ‘forbidden’ semigroups. There are two such in the one-sided case, three in the two-sided case. Also of interest in the one-sided case are the varieties consisting of unions of monoids, far indeed from any analogue for inverse semigroups. In a sequel, the author will show, in the two-sided case, that some rather surprising behavior is observed at the next ‘level’ of the lattice of varieties

Forward bearing reactor mechanism for Titan 3-E/Centaur D-1T space launch vehicle

System between the Titan/Centaur launch vehicle and its aerodynamic shroud is described. The system provides a precise spring constant and is capable of being inactivated during flight. Design requirements, design details, and the test program are discussed. The conventional English system of units was used during this development program for all principal measurements and calculations

Flow field simulation Patent

Wind tunnel method for simulating flow fields around blunt vehicles entering planetary atmospheres without involving high temperature