Early work focused on understanding the impact of pressure, free moving, and spring-restrained inceptors on manual control tasks (e.g., AFFDL-TR-66-72 and AFFDL-TR-66-138). Data from these programs were used to enhance the development of human operator models. Later work investigated the role of inceptors on lateral axis handling qualities including the roll ratchet phenomenon (e.g., NASA CR-3983, NASA CR-4111, and NASA CR-4443).

With the more recent introduction of active inceptors, Systems Technology has explored the use of force feedback cueing to the pilot with and without corresponding command path gain adjustment schemes as a means to alleviate pilot-vehicle system loss of control including pilot-induced oscillations. The Smart-Cue/Smart-Gain concepts were first developed as a means to mitigate the severe pilot-induced oscillations that can result from control surface actuator rate limiting. In follow-on work, the Smart Adaptive Flight Effective Cue or SAFE-Cue was introduced as a means to mitigate pilot-vehicle system loss of control with an active adaptive controller compensating for failures and/or damage.

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