Citation

Berthelon C, Mestre D. Hum. Factors 1993; 35(3): 521-534.

Affiliation

French National Institute for Research on Transportation and Safety (INRETS), Salon-de-Provence.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8244413

Abstract

Visual motion perception plays a fundamental role in vehicle control. Recent studies have shown that the pattern of optical flow resulting from the observer's self-motion through a stable environment is used by the observer to accurately control his or her movements. However, little is known about the perception of another vehicle during self-motion--for instance, when a car driver approaches an intersection with traffic. In a series of experiments using visual simulations of car driving, we show that observers are able to detect the presence of a moving object during self-motion. However, the perception of the other car's trajectory appears to be strongly dependent on environmental factors, such as the presence of a road sign near the intersection or the shape of the road. These results suggest that local and global visual factors determine the perception of a car's trajectory during self-motion.

Language: en