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Villavicencio P, de la Malla C, López-Moliner J. Prediction of time to contact under perceptual and contextual uncertainties. J Vis 2024; 24:14. [PMID: 38904641 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.6.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Accurately estimating time to contact (TTC) is crucial for successful interactions with moving objects, yet it is challenging under conditions of sensory and contextual uncertainty, such as occlusion. In this study, participants engaged in a prediction motion task, monitoring a target that moved rightward and an occluder. The participants' task was to press a key when they predicted the target would be aligned with the occluder's right edge. We manipulated sensory uncertainty by varying the visible and occluded periods of the target, thereby modulating the time available to integrate sensory information and the duration over which motion must be extrapolated. Additionally, contextual uncertainty was manipulated by having a predictable and unpredictable condition, meaning the occluder either reliably indicated where the moving target would disappear or provided no such indication. Results showed differences in accuracy between the predictable and unpredictable occluder conditions, with different eye movement patterns in each case. Importantly, the ratio of the time the target was visible, which allows for the integration of sensory information, to the occlusion time, which determines perceptual uncertainty, was a key factor in determining performance. This ratio is central to our proposed model, which provides a robust framework for understanding and predicting human performance in dynamic environments with varying degrees of uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Villavicencio
- Vision and Control of Action Group, Department of Cognition, Development, and Psychology of Education, Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Cristina de la Malla
- Vision and Control of Action Group, Department of Cognition, Development, and Psychology of Education, Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Joan López-Moliner
- Vision and Control of Action Group, Department of Cognition, Development, and Psychology of Education, Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Wessels M, Oberfeld D. A binary acceleration signal reduces overestimation in pedestrians' visual time-to-collision estimation for accelerating vehicles. Heliyon 2024; 10:e27483. [PMID: 38496889 PMCID: PMC10944229 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
When a pedestrian intends to cross the street, it is essential for safe mobility to correctly estimate the arrival time (time-to-collision, TTC) of an approaching vehicle. However, visual perception of acceleration is rather imprecise. Previous studies consistently showed that humans (mostly) disregard acceleration, but judge the TTC for an object as if it were traveling at constant speed (first-order estimation), which is associated with overestimated TTCs for positively accelerating objects. In a traffic context, such TTC overestimation could motivate pedestrians to cross in front of an approaching vehicle, although the time remaining is not sufficiently long. Can a simple acceleration signal help improve visual TTC estimation for accelerating objects? The present study investigated whether a signal that only indicates whether a vehicle is accelerating or not can remove the first-order pattern of overestimated TTCs. In a virtual reality simulation, 26 participants estimated the TTC of vehicles that approached with constant velocity or accelerated, from the perspective of a pedestrian at the curb. In half of the experimental blocks, a light band on the windshield illuminated whenever the vehicle accelerated but remained deactivated when the vehicle travelled at a constant speed. In the other blocks, the light band never illuminated, regardless of whether or not the vehicle accelerated. Participants were informed about the light band function in each block. Without acceleration signal, the estimated TTCs for the accelerating vehicles were consistent with an erroneous first-order approximation. In blocks with acceleration signal, participants substantially changed their estimation strategy, so that TTC overestimations for accelerating vehicles were reduced. Our data suggest that a binary acceleration signal helps pedestrians to effectively reduce the TTC overestimation for accelerating vehicles and could therefore increase pedestrian safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Wessels
- Institute of Psychology, Section Experimental Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Wallstrasse 3, 55122, Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniel Oberfeld
- Institute of Psychology, Section Experimental Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Wallstrasse 3, 55122, Mainz, Germany
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Hecht H, Brendel E, Wessels M, Bernhard C. Estimating time-to-contact when vision is impaired. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21213. [PMID: 34707116 PMCID: PMC8551319 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00331-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Often, we have to rely on limited information when judging time-to-contact (TTC), as for example, when driving in foul weather, or in situations where we would need reading glasses but do not have them handy. However, most existing studies on the ability to judge TTC have worked with optimal visual stimuli. In a prediction motion task, we explored to what extent TTC estimation is affected by visual stimulus degradation. A simple computer-simulated object approached the observer at constant speed either with clear or impaired vision. It was occluded after 1 or 1.5 s. The observers extrapolated the object’s motion and pressed a button when they thought the object would have collided with them. We found that dioptric blur and simulated snowfall shortened TTC-estimates. Contrast reduction produced by a virtual semi-transparent mask lengthened TTC estimates, which could be the result of distance overestimation or speed underestimation induced by the lower contrast or the increased luminance of the mask. We additionally explored the potential influence of arousal and valence, although they played a minor role for basic TTC estimation. Our findings suggest that vision impairments have adverse effects on TTC estimation, depending on the specific type of degradation and the changes of the visual environmental cues which they cause.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiko Hecht
- Psychologisches Institut, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Abteilung Allgemeine Experimentelle Psychologie, Wallstraße 3, 55099, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Esther Brendel
- Psychologisches Institut, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Abteilung Allgemeine Experimentelle Psychologie, Wallstraße 3, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Marlene Wessels
- Psychologisches Institut, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Abteilung Allgemeine Experimentelle Psychologie, Wallstraße 3, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Christoph Bernhard
- Psychologisches Institut, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Abteilung Allgemeine Experimentelle Psychologie, Wallstraße 3, 55099, Mainz, Germany
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Effects of visual blur and contrast on spatial and temporal precision in manual interception. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:3343-3358. [PMID: 34480594 PMCID: PMC8542000 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06184-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
The visual system is said to be especially sensitive towards spatial but lesser so towards temporal information. To test this, in two experiments, we systematically reduced the acuity and contrast of a visual stimulus and examined the impact on spatial and temporal precision (and accuracy) in a manual interception task. In Experiment 1, we blurred a virtual, to-be-intercepted moving circle (ball). Participants were asked to indicate (i.e., finger tap) on a touchscreen where and when the virtual ball crossed a ground line. As a measure of spatial and temporal accuracy and precision, we analyzed the constant and variable errors, respectively. With increasing blur, the spatial and temporal variable error, as well as the spatial constant error increased, while the temporal constant error decreased. Because in the first experiment, blur was potentially confounded with contrast, in Experiment 2, we re-ran the experiment with one difference: instead of blur, we included five levels of contrast matched to the blur levels. We found no systematic effects of contrast. Our findings confirm that blurring vision decreases spatial precision and accuracy and that the effects were not mediated by concomitant changes in contrast. However, blurring vision also affected temporal precision and accuracy, thereby questioning the generalizability of the theoretical predictions to the applied interception task.
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Battaglini L, Ghiani A. Motion behind occluder: Amodal perception and visual motion extrapolation. VISUAL COGNITION 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2021.1943094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Battaglini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy “Galileo Galilei”, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Andrea Ghiani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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Visibility Enhancement and Fog Detection: Solutions Presented in Recent Scientific Papers with Potential for Application to Mobile Systems. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21103370. [PMID: 34066176 PMCID: PMC8150865 DOI: 10.3390/s21103370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In mobile systems, fog, rain, snow, haze, and sun glare are natural phenomena that can be very dangerous for drivers. In addition to the visibility problem, the driver must face also the choice of speed while driving. The main effects of fog are a decrease in contrast and a fade of color. Rain and snow cause also high perturbation for the driver while glare caused by the sun or by other traffic participants can be very dangerous even for a short period. In the field of autonomous vehicles, visibility is of the utmost importance. To solve this problem, different researchers have approached and offered varied solutions and methods. It is useful to focus on what has been presented in the scientific literature over the past ten years relative to these concerns. This synthesis and technological evolution in the field of sensors, in the field of communications, in data processing, can be the basis of new possibilities for approaching the problems. This paper summarizes the methods and systems found and considered relevant, which estimate or even improve visibility in adverse weather conditions. Searching in the scientific literature, in the last few years, for the preoccupations of the researchers for avoiding the problems of the mobile systems caused by the environmental factors, we found that the fog phenomenon is the most dangerous. Our focus is on the fog phenomenon, and here, we present published research about methods based on image processing, optical power measurement, systems of sensors, etc.
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Solini H, Andre J. Time-to-arrival estimations to simulated pedestrians. ACCIDENT; ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION 2020; 146:105739. [PMID: 32927280 DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2020.105739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Driving a vehicle requires individuals' awareness of their surroundings to prevent collisions with other vehicles, objects, and pedestrians. While previous research has investigated time-to-arrival (TTA) in real-world and simulated driving situations, there is little information on how pedestrian reflectance and time of day impact TTA. The present study investigated how vehicle velocity, viewing time, pedestrian reflectance, and time of day affected individuals' estimates of TTA. We used recorded driver-perspective footage of a vehicle approaching simulated pedestrians at different velocities during daytime and nighttime. We found that TTA was consistently underestimated, with the most accurate TTA estimates occurring at the lowest vehicle velocity. We also found TTA accuracy was better during daytime conditions. Pedestrian reflectance did not produce a significant main effect, but it did interact significantly with both velocity and time of day. These results suggest that multiple variables are responsible for TTA estimation. A better understanding of what factors may affect TTA estimates helps both researchers who investigate the phenomenon and laypersons who strive for safe driving practices.
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Peek MY, Card GM. Comparative approaches to escape. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2016; 41:167-173. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2016.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2016] [Revised: 09/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Dunn TW, Gebhardt C, Naumann EA, Riegler C, Ahrens MB, Engert F, Del Bene F. Neural Circuits Underlying Visually Evoked Escapes in Larval Zebrafish. Neuron 2016; 89:613-28. [PMID: 26804997 PMCID: PMC4742414 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 186] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2014] [Revised: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Escape behaviors deliver organisms away from imminent catastrophe. Here, we characterize behavioral responses of freely swimming larval zebrafish to looming visual stimuli simulating predators. We report that the visual system alone can recruit lateralized, rapid escape motor programs, similar to those elicited by mechanosensory modalities. Two-photon calcium imaging of retino-recipient midbrain regions isolated the optic tectum as an important center processing looming stimuli, with ensemble activity encoding the critical image size determining escape latency. Furthermore, we describe activity in retinal ganglion cell terminals and superficial inhibitory interneurons in the tectum during looming and propose a model for how temporal dynamics in tectal periventricular neurons might arise from computations between these two fundamental constituents. Finally, laser ablations of hindbrain circuitry confirmed that visual and mechanosensory modalities share the same premotor output network. We establish a circuit for the processing of aversive stimuli in the context of an innate visual behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy W Dunn
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Program in Neuroscience, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Christoph Gebhardt
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, INSERM, U 934, CNRS UMR3215, 26 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Eva A Naumann
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Clemens Riegler
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Wien, Austria
| | - Misha B Ahrens
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Florian Engert
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Program in Neuroscience, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Filippo Del Bene
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, INSERM, U 934, CNRS UMR3215, 26 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France.
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Kane SA, Fulton AH, Rosenthal LJ. When hawks attack: animal-borne video studies of goshawk pursuit and prey-evasion strategies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 218:212-22. [PMID: 25609783 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.108597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Video filmed by a camera mounted on the head of a Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) was used to study how the raptor used visual guidance to pursue prey and land on perches. A combination of novel image analysis methods and numerical simulations of mathematical pursuit models was used to determine the goshawk's pursuit strategy. The goshawk flew to intercept targets by fixing the prey at a constant visual angle, using classical pursuit for stationary prey, lures or perches, and usually using constant absolute target direction (CATD) for moving prey. Visual fixation was better maintained along the horizontal than vertical direction. In some cases, we observed oscillations in the visual fix on the prey, suggesting that the goshawk used finite-feedback steering. Video filmed from the ground gave similar results. In most cases, it showed goshawks intercepting prey using a trajectory consistent with CATD, then turning rapidly to attack by classical pursuit; in a few cases, it showed them using curving non-CATD trajectories. Analysis of the prey's evasive tactics indicated that only sharp sideways turns caused the goshawk to lose visual fixation on the prey, supporting a sensory basis for the surprising frequency and effectiveness of this tactic found by previous studies. The dynamics of the prey's looming image also suggested that the goshawk used a tau-based interception strategy. We interpret these results in the context of a concise review of pursuit-evasion in biology, and conjecture that some prey deimatic 'startle' displays may exploit tau-based interception.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew H Fulton
- Physics Department, Haverford College, Haverford, PA 19041, USA
| | - Lee J Rosenthal
- Physics Department, Haverford College, Haverford, PA 19041, USA
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