Using qualitative knowledge for quantitative simulation of the human spatial orientation system

Theory formation is an important scientific goal. This process often involves the development of complex mathematical models which are first qualitatively tested before being fine tuned quantitatively. The authors explore the quantitative fine tuning aspect of theory formation. The scientific domain chosen for this work is the human orientation system. The particular experiment for the modeling is space-borne. The scarceness of data leads to fine tune the model parameters for each astronaut. The authors are currently developing a computer tool for automatic, reliable and rapid convergence toward the best parameter fit for each individual subject using qualitative knowledge of the general model formulated