Using ambulatory virtual environments for the assessment of functional gait impairment: a proof-of-concept study.

This study aimed to demonstrate the sensitivity of virtual reality (VR)/motion tracking to detect global functional gait impairment resulting from an emulated knee disability as a prelude to describing mobility changes following lower limb injury/treatment. Participants walked in a figure-8 around two virtual posts placed 6m apart while viewing the computer-generated environment in a helmet-mounted display. Three-dimensional position and orientation of the participant's head were tracked and used to update the virtual scenes, measure walking path and speed, and control task parameters with real-time feedback.

Characteristics of personal space during obstacle circumvention in physical and virtual environments.

It is not known how the flexible protective zone maintained around oneself during locomotion (personal space or PS; see [Gérin-Lajoie M, Richards CL, McFadyen BJ. The negotiation of stationary and moving obstructions during walking: anticipatory locomotor adaptations and preservation of personal space. Motor Control 2005;9:242-69]) is modulated with walking speed, whether both sides of the PS are symmetrical, and whether the circumvention of physical and virtual obstructions elicit the same use of such PS.

Navigational strategies during fast walking: a comparison between trained athletes and non-athletes.

Many common activities such as walking in a shopping mall, moving in a busy subway station, or even avoiding opponents during sports, all require different levels of navigational skills. Obstacle circumvention is beginning to be understood across age groups, but studying trained athletes with greater levels of motor ability will further our understanding of skillful adaptive locomotor behavior. The objective of this work was to compare navigational skills during fast walking between elite athletes (e.

The circumvention of obstacles during walking in different environmental contexts: a comparison between older and younger adults.

Avoiding pedestrians is an integral part of our daily activities, yet this locomotor activity has received little attention in gait research. A recent study [Motor Control 2005;9:242] described the motor strategies used by young adults to circumvent an obstruction in different environmental contexts including obstacle movement, certainty about this obstacle movement and auditory distractions. The relationship between normal aging and such locomotor activity within these different environmental contexts, however, is not known.

The negotiation of stationary and moving obstructions during walking: anticipatory locomotor adaptations and preservation of personal space.

This article introduces a novel, ecological, obstructed walking paradigm. Gait adaptations to circumvent obstacles undergoing uncertain displacements, and the effect of revealing the obstacle's action beforehand, were investigated in young adults. The personal space (PS) maintained during walking was quantified for the first time under different environmental factors including auditory distractions.