Force-Based Modeling of Heterogeneous Roles in the Coordinated Behavior of a Triad

Group coordination is defined as interactions with other members to implement a task that is difficult to do alone or to achieve higher performance than an individual. Meanwhile, the adjustment process in coordination is not uniquely determined because each individual has many degrees of freedom. It is more difficult to explain and model complex and dynamic coordination, such as nonverbal behavior of three or more members than pair or verbal interaction. Hence, we previously introduced a coordinated drawing task and conducted the behavioral experiment. The triads operated reels to change the tensions of threads connected to a pen, shared three heterogeneous roles (pulling, relaxing, and adjusting), and moved the pen to draw an equilateral triangle. The results indicated that the adjusting role was related to high task performance by helping resiliently without disturbing the pen’s smooth movement while avoiding great pen deviation. However, this experiment alone cannot explain details of the adjustment process of tension. To supplement these findings, this study formulated the three roles using equations of motion. The multi-agent simulation results showed that the adjusting role might use the degree of pen deviation reflected by the others’ motor information, such as the operating procedures and forces, to change the tension and draw at least three sides. Although it is necessary to consider that we used the experimental task, our study contributes to the fundamental understanding of resilient adjustment in coordination by sharing heterogeneous roles as the first step.