Hitting what one wants to hit and missing what one wants to miss

When an observer gazes directly at a rigid spherical object moving at constant speed along a line directed at the head, both monocular and binocular retinal image correlates of time to collision (TTC) are available provided that the object is not too small. The monocular correlate is not available for very small objects and is invalid for rotating aspherical objects, while the binocular correlate is available only when the ratio (closing speed)/(distance) is sufficiently large. Both cues are maximally effective in the central visual field so it is helpful to foveate potential collision hazards. On the other hand, in the special case of prolonged periods of driving along a straight empty road it is important to vary the direction of gaze rather than continuously gazing straight ahead so as to avoid the local adaptation to retinal image expansion that can cause errors in judging TTC when only monocular information is available. A more benign effect of self-motion is a long-distance interaction between the TTC signal generated by the approaching object and the expanding flow pattern caused by self-motion. This interaction creates a margin of safety. We also discuss eye movement strategies in executing the following two tasks: estimating the direction of self-motion; hitting a cricket ball.

[1]  D Regan Spatial orientation in aviation: visual contributions. , 1995, Journal of vestibular research : equilibrium & orientation.

[2]  H. Collewijn,et al.  Eye movements and stereopsis during dichoptic viewing of moving random-dot stereograms , 1985, Vision Research.

[3]  D Regan,et al.  Risky driving behavior: a consequence of motion adaptation for visually guided motor action. , 2000, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[4]  Dave Regan,et al.  Human perception of objects: early visual processing of spatial form defined by luminance , 2000 .

[5]  W. H. Ittelson Visual space perception , 1961 .

[6]  F. Bremmer,et al.  Perception of self-motion from visual flow , 1999, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[7]  D. Regan,et al.  Separable aftereffects of changing-size and motion-in-depth: Different neural mechanisms? , 1979, Vision Research.

[8]  D Regan,et al.  Just-noticeable difference in the speed of cyclopean motion in depth and the speed of cyclopean motion within a frontoparallel plane. , 1997, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[9]  M. P. Friedman,et al.  HANDBOOK OF PERCEPTION , 1977 .

[10]  M Lappe,et al.  Computational mechanisms for optic flow analysis in primate cortex. , 2000, International review of neurobiology.

[11]  B Pipkorn INFLUENCE OF THE NHTSA (NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION) AND EEVC (EUROPEAN EXPERIMENTAL VEHICLES COMMITTEE) SIDE IMPACT BARRIERS ON VARIOUS DUMMY RESPONSES: EVALUATION BY MATHEMATICAL SIMULATIONS , 1996 .

[12]  Julie M. Harris,et al.  Poor Speed Discrimination Suggests that there is No Specialized Speed Mechanism for Cyclopean Motion , 1996, Vision Research.

[13]  D. Regan,et al.  Dissociation of discrimination thresholds for time to contact and for rate of angular expansion , 1993, Vision Research.

[14]  D. Regan,et al.  Cyclopean Discrimination Thresholds for the Direction and Speed of Motion in Depth , 1996, Vision Research.

[15]  D. Regan,et al.  Necessary conditions for the perception of motion in depth. , 1986, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[16]  D. Regan,et al.  Simulated self-motion alters perceived time to collision , 2000, Current Biology.

[17]  Richard A. Andersen,et al.  Visual self-motion perception during head turns , 1998, Nature Neuroscience.

[18]  D Regan,et al.  Do Monocular Time-to-Collision Estimates Necessarily Involve Perceived Distance? , 1999, Perception.

[19]  L. Kaufman,et al.  Handbook of perception and human performance , 1986 .

[20]  B. C. Motter,et al.  Functional properties of parietal visual neurons: radial organization of directionalities within the visual field , 1987, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[21]  Fred Sir Hoyle,et al.  The Black Cloud , 1957 .

[22]  D Regan,et al.  Device for measuring the precision of eye-hand coordination while tracking changing size. , 1980, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[23]  D Regan,et al.  Discrimination of the direction and speed of motion in depth of a monocularly visible target from binocular information alone. , 1997, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[24]  D Regan,et al.  Visual Judgements and Misjudgements in Cricket, and the Art of Flight , 1992, Perception.

[25]  W. H. S. Monok VISUAL SPACE-PERCEPTIONS IN THE DARK , 1884 .

[26]  D. Regan,et al.  Visual perception of changing size: The effect of object size , 1979, Vision Research.

[27]  J. Tresilian Visually timed action: time-out for ‘tau’? , 1999, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[28]  Julie M. Harris,et al.  Speed discrimination of motion-in-depth using binocular cues , 1995, Vision Research.

[29]  D. Regan,et al.  Visual processing of looming and time to contact throughout the visual field , 1995, Vision Research.

[30]  M. Cynader,et al.  The visual perception of motion in depth. , 1979, Scientific American.

[31]  Claire F. Michaels,et al.  The optics and actions of catching fly balls , 1992 .

[32]  James A. Crowell,et al.  The perception of heading during eye movements , 1992, Nature.

[33]  John P. Wann,et al.  Anticipating arrival: is the tau margin a specious theory? , 1996, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[34]  D. Regan Visual information channeling in normal and disordered vision. , 1982, Psychological review.

[35]  D. Regan,et al.  Visually guided collision avoidance and collision achievement , 2000, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[36]  D. Regan,et al.  Looming detectors in the human visual pathway , 1978, Vision Research.

[37]  D. Regan,et al.  Binocular and monocular stimuli for motion in depth: Changing-disparity and changing-size feed the same motion-in-depth stage , 1979, Vision Research.

[38]  D Regan,et al.  Visually guided locomotion: psychophysical evidence for a neural mechanism sensitive to flow patterns. , 1979, Science.

[39]  D Regan,et al.  Visual factors in hitting and catching. , 1997, Journal of sports sciences.

[40]  D J Hannon,et al.  Eye movements and optical flow. , 1990, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[41]  Robert Gray,et al.  Risky driving behavior: a consequence of motion adaptation for visually guided motor action. , 2000 .

[42]  D Regan,et al.  Adaptation to Incomplete Flow Patterns: No Evidence for ‘Filling-In’ the Perception of Flow Patterns , 1982, Perception.

[43]  D Regan,et al.  Accuracy of estimating time to collision using binocular and monocular information , 1998, Vision Research.

[44]  D Regan,et al.  A stereo field map with implications for disparity processing. , 1973, Investigative ophthalmology.

[45]  J. Gibson The perception of the visual world , 1951 .

[46]  David N. Lee,et al.  A Theory of Visual Control of Braking Based on Information about Time-to-Collision , 1976, Perception.

[47]  D Regan,et al.  Visual Sensitivity to the Shape and Size of a Moving Object: Implications for Models of Object Perception , 1980, Perception.

[48]  M K Kaiser,et al.  How baseball outfielders determine where to run to catch fly balls. , 1995, Science.

[49]  D. Regan,et al.  Human brain electrophysiology , 1989 .

[50]  P. McLeod,et al.  How to Catch a Cricket Ball , 1993, Perception.

[51]  D. Regan,et al.  Visual flow and direction of locomotion. , 1985, Science.

[52]  Constance S. Royden,et al.  Analysis of misperceived observer motion during simulated eye rotations , 1994, Vision Research.

[53]  D Regan,et al.  Adapting to expansion increases perceived time-to-collision , 1999, Vision Research.

[54]  H. Levitt Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics. , 1971, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[55]  H. Collewijn,et al.  Motion perception during dichoptic viewing of moving random-dot stereograms , 1985, Vision Research.

[56]  David N. Lee,et al.  Where we look when we steer , 1994, Nature.

[57]  W. Warren,et al.  Perception of translational heading from optical flow. , 1988, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[58]  D Regan,et al.  Visual field defects for vergence eye movements and for stereomotion perception. , 1986, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[59]  K. Hoffmann,et al.  Optic flow and eye movements. , 2000, International review of neurobiology.

[60]  D Regan,et al.  How do we avoid confounding the direction we are looking and the direction we are moving? , 1982, Science.

[61]  John P. Wann,et al.  Why you should look where you are going , 2000, Nature Neuroscience.

[62]  D. Regan,et al.  Visual fields for frontal plane motion and for changing size , 1983, Vision Research.

[63]  D. Regan,et al.  Evidence for the existence of neural mechanisms selectively sensitive to the direction of movement in space , 1973, The Journal of physiology.

[64]  D Regan,et al.  Visual test results compared with flying performance in telemetry-tracked aircraft. , 1983, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[65]  R. Bootsma,et al.  Timing an attacking forehand drive in table tennis. , 1990 .

[66]  J. Wann,et al.  Steering with or without the flow: is the retrieval of heading necessary? , 2000, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[67]  D Regan,et al.  Visual responses to changing size and to sideways motion for different directions of motion in depth: linearization of visual responses. , 1980, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[68]  D. Regan,et al.  Estimating the time to collision with a rotating nonspherical object , 2000, Vision Research.