Locomotor adaptations in relation to mode and environmental factors

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Self propelled displacement can take many forms (e.g., biped, wheeled), but always requires support, balance, and trajectory control (direction and speed) driven by the environment and intent. While we are learning much about anticipatory control of walking, issues such as lower limb independence for stepping over obstacles, and the cause-effect relationships within the larger person-environment continuum for circumventing obstacles (particularly for social factors and locomotor mode) are still not well understood. The long-term goals of my program are to: 1) study the interaction between personal and environmental factors related to anticipatory locomotor adaptation; and 2) advance technology to measure such interaction. In relation to these two areas, projects over the next five years are designed to : 1a understand the relation between equilibrium and stepping control with respect to the physical characteristics of environmental obstructions; 1bdifferentiate generic from mode-specific locomotor navigational control related to environmental factors; 1crelate locomotor navigational control to physical and social environmental factors; and 2innovate locomotor VR protocols to simulate physical social contact. Experimental protocols will involve stepping over and circumventing obstacles of different characteristics using both physical and virtual setups. All projects will include measures of three-dimensional movements related, as appropriate, to adjustments in path trajectory, personal space or lower limb and foot control using motion analyses, force plates, as well as measures of muscle activity and eye movements. We will develop a virtual reality platform to manipulate avatar movements and face and body emotion to relate social interaction to navigational adjustments. Biped, wheelchair and bicycle locomotion will be compared in a physical setup with a static obstacle to circumvent, looking at the effects of different steering and propulsion on navigational behaviour. Technology developments are presently carried out in a collaborative project with colleagues in engineering to use a robotic cable driven system to introduce actual environmental contact with avatars during treadmill gait. This work will further advance our understanding of common and mode-specific locomotor control in relation to the environment. Together with contributing to the evolution of related technology, it will also provide valuable fundamental information for fields such as robotics, urban planning, and rehabilitation.