Chapter 13: The use of virtual environments in perception action research: Grasping the impossible and controlling the improbable

Two of the most fundamental animal behaviours are controlling locomotion to arrive at an intended destination, and capturing objects upon arrival. Research into the control of naturalistic behaviours such as these has been hampered by the difficulty in manipulating environmental information, without impinging upon the naturalness of the task. We outline the potential of computationally specified 3-D optic arrays (virtual environments) to allow control over the visual information provided to the performer. We then provide examples of re-examining the control of locomotion and interceptive timing using virtual environment displays