Virtual reality setup with force plates for pigeons

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We are applying for four pieces of equipment which together form a virtual reality arena for walking pigeons. The arena is surrounded by back-projection screens. Its floor is made of a treadmill belt, which can be replaced with stationary force platforms for some of the planned experiments. A motion capture system tracks the position and orientation of the head of the pigeon in real-time and computes the exact location of the eyes. This information is then used to drive the treadmill in order to keep the pigeon in place, and also to control an image generating system which creates displays on the projection screens that mimic exactly what the pigeon would see from its current position if it was looking at a three-dimensional world with well a defined geometry. In contrast to conditions in the real world, however, the setup allows us to uncouple and then re-define the relation between the movement of the bird and the retinal image motion which this movement induces.