Perception--action coupling model for human locomotor pointing

Abstract

How do humans achieve the precise positioning of the feet during walking, for example, to reach the first step of a stairway? We addressed this question at the visuomotor integration level. Based on the optical specification of the required adaptation, a dynamical system model of the visuomotor control of human locomotor pointing was devised for the positioning of a foot on a visible target on the floor during walking. Visuomotor integration consists of directly linking optical information to a motor command that specifically modulates step length in accordance with the ongoing dynamics of locomotor pattern generation. The adaptation of locomotion emerges from a perception-action coupling type of control based on temporal information rather than on feedforward planning of movements. The proposed model reproduces experimental results obtained for human locomotor pointing.