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Welcome to the official blog of the International Society of Automation (ISA).

This blog covers numerous topics on industrial automation such as operations & management, continuous & batch processing, connectivity, manufacturing & machine control, and Industry 4.0.

The material and information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. ISA blog posts may be authored by ISA staff and guest authors from the automation community. Views and opinions expressed by a guest author are solely their own, and do not necessarily represent those of ISA. Posts made by guest authors have been subject to peer review.

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AutoQuiz: What is the Average Human Response Rate to Signals?

AutoQuiz is edited by Joel Don, ISA's social media community manager.

Today's automation industry quiz question comes from the ISA Certified Automation Professional certification program. ISA CAP certification provides a non-biased, third-party, objective assessment and confirmation of an automation professional's skills. The CAP exam is focused on direction, definition, design, development/application, deployment, documentation, and support of systems, software, and equipment used in control systems, manufacturing information systems, systems integration, and operational consulting. Click this link for information about the CAP program. This question is from the CAP study guide, Performance Domain IV, Development.

The average person cannot respond to signals more frequent than one every:

a) 30 milliseconds
b) 80 milliseconds
c) 300 milliseconds
d) 800 milliseconds
e) none of the above

The average person cannot process signals more frequent than one every 300 milliseconds, or about three signals per second. Therefore, for reliable regulation of events that are faster than three signals per second, a person should not act as the controller.

The correct answer is C, 300 milliseconds.

Reference: Donald A. Coggan, Fundamentals of Industrial Control: Practical Guides for Measurement and Control, Second Edition.

Joel Don
Joel Don
Joel Don is an independent content marketing, social media and public relations consultant. Prior to his work in marketing and PR, Joel served as an editor for regional newspapers and national magazines throughout the U.S. He earned a master's degree from the Medill School at Northwestern University with a focus on science, engineering and biomedical marketing communications, and a bachelor of science degree from UC San Diego.

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