The use of egocentric direction and optic flow in the visual guidance of walking. Rushton, S., Herlihey, T., & Allison, R. In AVA/BMVA Meeting on Biological and Computer Vision. 05, 2011.
abstract   bibtex   
How do humans visually guide themselves towards a target? The traditional account (eg Gibson J J, 1966, The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems (Boston:Houghton-Mifflin, Boston); Warren W H, Hannon D J, 1988, Nature, 336, 162-163.) was based on the use of optic flow: the observer regulates his or her direction of walking so as to align the focus of expansion with the target object. Work over the past 13 years points to use of a different strategy: the observer keeps the target perceptually straight-ahead (Rushton S K et al, 1998, Current Biology, 8, 1191-1194). The information required to keep an object straight-ahead is the current direction of an object relative to the body, its ``egocentric direction''. Although egocentric direction is a very simple source of information, modelling shows that it allows for quite sophisticated locomotor behaviour. What of the use of optic flow? Our recent work has shown that it plays an important role in maintaining calibration. Egocentric direction is derived in part from eye orientation and head orientation signals. These signals are prone to drift. It appears the brain keeps perception of egocentric direction calibrated by comparing predictions of the optic flow that will result from any given walking movement against the optic flow that actually results. Any discrepancy then drives a recalibration process. Thus optic flow does contribute to the visual guidance of walking, but indirectly through the recalibration of egocentric direction.
@incollection{Rushton:2011ht,
	abstract = {How do humans visually guide themselves towards a target?  The traditional account (eg Gibson J J, 1966, The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems (Boston:Houghton-Mifflin, Boston); Warren W H, Hannon D J, 1988, Nature, 336, 162-163.) was based on the use of optic flow: the observer regulates his or her direction of walking so as to align the focus of expansion with the target object.  Work over the past 13 years points to use of a different strategy: the observer keeps the target perceptually straight-ahead (Rushton S K et al, 1998, Current Biology, 8, 1191-1194).  The information required to keep an object straight-ahead is the current direction of an object relative to the body, its ``egocentric direction''.  Although egocentric direction is a very simple source of information, modelling shows that it allows for quite sophisticated locomotor behaviour.   What of the use of optic flow?  Our recent work has shown that it plays an important role in maintaining calibration.  Egocentric direction is derived in part from eye orientation and head orientation signals.  These signals are prone to drift.  It appears the brain keeps perception of egocentric direction calibrated by comparing predictions of the optic flow that will result from any given walking movement against the optic flow that actually results.  Any discrepancy then drives a recalibration process.  Thus optic flow does contribute to the visual guidance of walking, but indirectly through the recalibration of egocentric direction.},
	author = {Rushton, S.K. and Herlihey, T.A. and Allison, R.S.},
	booktitle = {AVA/BMVA Meeting on Biological and Computer Vision},
	date-added = {2011-05-11 11:15:14 -0400},
	date-modified = {2011-05-24 10:07:39 -0400},
	keywords = {Optic flow & Self Motion (also Locomotion & Aviation)},
	month = {05},
	organization = {School of Psychology, Cardiff University},
	title = {The use of egocentric direction and optic flow in the visual guidance of walking},
	year = {2011}}

Downloads: 0