Visual-Vestibular interaction in motion perception

Abstract

Correct perception of self motion is of vital importance for both the control of our position and posture when moving around in our environment. With the development of human controlled vehicles as bicycles, cars and aircraft motion perception became of interest for the understanding of vehicle control. For flight simulation the understanding of motion perception became even more important where the motion stimulation of the simulator pilot is influenced by the limitations of the ground based simulation process. Motion perception as performed by the central nervous system, CNS, is based on sensory inputs from the visual, vestibular and somatosensory system. These sensory systems provide the information about body orientation and self motion. Due to the different dynamic characteristics of the sensors smart processing of the sensory information is required to perceive spatial orientation and motion over a wide range of conditions. The paper describes how in the perception process flow and attitude information from the visual system, linear and rotational motion information from the vestibular system, and body orientation from the somatosensory system is combined in the motion perception process. Based on available knowledge motion perception models were developed and an overview of these models will be presented. Three perception models will be discussed to explain how the visual and vestibular systems contribute to the percept of motion. The limitations of ground based motion simulation affects pilot's motion perception in flight simulation. Differences between the output of the perception model stimulated with the visual and vestibular motion cues in the real aircraft and in the simulated aircraft will be presented for a representative aircraft maneuver. © 2011 by R.J.A.W. Hosman. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.