Visual Control of Locomotion
Abstract
The accomplishments were threefold. First, a software tool for rendering virtual environments was developed, a tool useful for other researchers interested in visual perception and visual control of action. Second, an instrumented electric scooter was developed that allows a person to drive around in virtual reality while experiencing the normal inertial cues associated with physical motion. This type of research vehicle can be used to investigate the roles of visual and inertial cues in the control of locomotion. Third, a number of behavioral experiments were conducted in real and virtual environments. The principal research findings were these: (1) complex behaviors, like steering a curved path and ball catching, can be performed without the retinal motion associated with luminance-based stimulation, (2) visual control of posture depends on the sensed relative motion between self and environment instead of on "optic flow", (3) people can continue steering a vehicle after the loss of visual information, implicating an internal model of surrounding space, (4) a steering error observed while driving with visual information only is eliminated when inertial cues.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 30, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA437949
Entities
People
- Andrew C. Beall
- Jack M. Loomis
Organizations
- University of California Regents