The study of locomotor pointing in virtual reality: the validation of a test set-up.
The goal of this experiment was to validate an experimental set-up for studying locomotor pointing. The specific and also original element of this set-up was the interactive nature of virtual reality and movement production. This interaction was achieved through the coupling of a treadmill and a Silicon Graphics system. This latter system generated on a screen (3 x 2.3 m) an environmental array that moved according to the action produced by subjects on a treadmill. The task was to place either foot on a spatial target that appeared on the floor in front of the subject's displacement trajectory. We analyzed the step length patterns of subjects approaching these targets, along with the current target-subject relationship. The results are in agreement with a perception-action coupling type of control mechanism that operates continuously as the subject approaches the desired target. Apparently, these findings mirror observations of real-life locomotion, indicating that the present set-up provides a valid and useful tool for examining human locomotion.
de Rugy
A
A
CNRS and Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France. de_rugy@laps.univ-mrs.fr
Montagne
G
G
Buekers
M J
MJ
Laurent
M
M
D000328:Adult; D003196:Computer Graphics; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion; D009949:Orientation; D011601:Psychophysics; D014584:User-Computer Interface