Target position and avoidance margin effects on path planning in obstacle avoidance.

This study examined how people choose their path to a target, and the visual information they use for path planning. Participants avoided stepping outside an avoidance margin between a stationary obstacle and the edge of a walkway as they walked to a bookcase and picked up a target from different locations on a shelf. We provided an integrated explanation for path selection by combining avoidance margin, deviation angle, and distance to the obstacle.

Hierarchical goal effects on center of mass velocity and eye fixations during gait.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hierarchical goal structure of a yet-to-be performed task on gait and eye fixation behavior while walking to the location of where the task was to be performed. Subjects performed different goal-directed tasks representing three hierarchical levels of planning. The first level of planning consisted of having the subject walk to a bookcase on which an object (a cup) was located in the middle of a shelf.