Article

We compared the effects of visual and haptic modalities on the adaptation
capabilities of healthy subjects to the virtual environment. The visual cueing
(only the reference motion is presented) and visual feedback (the reference
motion as well as the current tracking deviation are presented) were provided by
a real-time visualization of a virtual teacher and a virtual self - avatar, using
optical measurements. The subjects had to track the virtual teacher during
stepping-in-place movements. The haptic feedback was provided by the actuated
gait orthosis Lokomat programmed with the same stepping movements employing an
impedance control algorithm. Both setups included auditory cueing. The stepping
task was performed by engaging different modalities separately as well as
combined. The results showed that (1) visual feedback alone yielded better
tracking of the virtual teacher than visual cueing alone, (2) haptic feedback
alone yielded better tracking than any visual modality alone, (3) haptic feedback
and visual feedback combined yielded better tracking than haptic feedback alone,
and (4) haptic feedback combined with visual cueing did not improve tracking
performance compared to haptic feedback alone. In general, we observed a better
task performance with the haptic modality compared to visual modality.
CI - Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS