NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Collections About News Help Login
Back to Results
Tactile Cueing as a Gravitational Substitute for Spatial Navigation During Parabolic FlightINTRODUCTION: Spatial navigation requires an accurate awareness of orientation in your environment. The purpose of this experiment was to examine how spatial awareness was impaired with changing gravitational cues during parabolic flight, and the extent to which vibrotactile feedback of orientation could be used to help improve performance. METHODS: Six subjects were restrained in a chair tilted relative to the plane floor, and placed at random positions during the start of the microgravity phase. Subjects reported their orientation using verbal reports, and used a hand-held controller to point to a desired target location presented using a virtual reality video mask. This task was repeated with and without constant tactile cueing of "down" direction using a belt of 8 tactors placed around the mid-torso. Control measures were obtained during ground testing using both upright and tilted conditions. RESULTS: Perceptual estimates of orientation and pointing accuracy were impaired during microgravity or during rotation about an upright axis in 1g. The amount of error was proportional to the amount of chair displacement. Perceptual errors were reduced during movement about a tilted axis on earth. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced perceptual errors during tilts in 1g indicate the importance of otolith and somatosensory cues for maintaining spatial awareness. Tactile cueing may improve navigation in operational environments or clinical populations, providing a non-visual non-auditory feedback of orientation or desired direction heading.
Document ID
20100042381
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Montgomery, K. L. (Stanford Univ. Stanford, CA, United States)
Beaton, K. H. (Johns Hopkins Univ. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Barba, J. M. (Texas A&M Univ. College Station, TX, United States)
Cackler, J. M. (Stanford Univ. Stanford, CA, United States)
Son, J. H. (Stanford Univ. Stanford, CA, United States)
Horsfield, S. P. (Ohio Univ. Athens, OH, United States)
Wood, S. J. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2010
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-22466
Meeting Information
Meeting: 8th Symposium on the Role of the Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration
Location: Houston, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: April 8, 2011
End Date: April 10, 2011
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

Related Records

There are no records associated with this record.
No Preview Available