Abstract
Intercepting a moving target requires spatial and temporal precision: the target and the hand need to be at the same position at the same time. Since both the target and the hand move, we cannot just aim for the target's current position, but need to predict where the target will be by the time we reach it. We normally continuously track targets with our gaze, unless the characteristics of the task or of the target make it impossible to do so. Then, we make saccades and direct our movements towards specific locations where we predict the target will be in the future. If the precise location at which one is to hit the target only becomes evident as the target approaches the interception area, the gaze, head and hand movements towards this area are delayed due to not having the possibility of predicting the target future position. Predictions are continuously updated and combined with online visual information to optimize our actions: the less predictable the target's motion, the more we have to rely on online visual information to guide our hand to intercept it. Updating predictions with online information allow to correct for any mismatch between the predicted target position and the hand position during an on-going movement, but any perceptual error that is still present at the last moment at which we can update our prediction will result in an equivalent interception error.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2018