NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Effects of Body Orientation and Retinal Image Pitch on the Perception of Gravity-Referenced Eye Level (GREL)It has been asserted that the pitch orientation of a visual array and of an observer's body jointly determine the perception of GREL. The current study formally tests this assertion over an extended range with multiple combinations of visual and body pitch orientations. Ten subjects were individually secured in a Circolectric bed surrounded by a room (pitchroom) with walls that could be pitched at various angles with respect to gravity. The bed and the walls of the room were independently adjusted to each of five positions relative to gravitational vertical: -15, -7.5, 0, +7.5, and +15 degrees, yielding 25 combinations of body x room pitch angles, and retinal image pitch (RIP) conditions ranging from -30 to +30 degrees. Each subject set a target to apparent GREL while viewing it against a background of two electroluminescent strips on the outer edges of the far wall of the room. As determined by ANOVA, the orientation of the room, and its interaction with that of the observer, significantly altered GREL (p less than 0.01). Regression analysis showed that GREL was best described as a linear summation of the weighted independent contributions from a body-referenced mechanism (B) and a visual mechanism given by the orientation of the background array on the retina (RIP). The equation for this relationship is: GREL = .74 (B) +.64 (RIP) - 1.42; r-squared = .994.
Document ID
20020006183
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Cohen, Malcolm M.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Guzy, Larry T.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Wade, Charles E.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Subject Category
Behavioral Sciences
Meeting Information
Meeting: Aerospace Medical Association Meeting
Location: Anaheim, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: May 7, 1995
End Date: May 11, 1995
Sponsors: Aerospace Medical Association
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 199-16-12-08
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available