Abstract
While it is universally acknowledged that both bottom up and top down factors contribute to allocation of gaze, we currently have limited understanding of how top down factors determine gaze choices in the context of ongoing natural behavior such as driving or locomotion. Modeling top-down gaze control has been very difficult because it depends on characterizing the underlying task structure. One purely top-down model by Sprague et al (2007) suggests that natural behaviors can be understood in terms of simple component behaviors, or modules, that are executed according to their expected reward value, with gaze targets chosen in order to reduce uncertainty about the particular world state needed to execute those behaviors. I will discuss the plausibility of the central claims of this approach in the context of driving and locomotion tasks. The modular approach of independent component behaviors is consistent with many aspects of performance, and can generate sequences of fixations similar to those observed in human driving and walking behavior. Thus the model forms a useful, although incomplete, starting point for understanding top-down factors in active behavior.
Meeting abstract presented at the 2016 OSA Fall Vision Meeting