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Publication AbstractsSpeed-Accuracy Trade-Off of Grasping Movements During MicrogravityS. Jüngling, O. Bock, and M. GirgenrathAviat Space Environ Med 2002; 73:430-5 AbstractBackground: Earthbound studies have shown that for pointing movements there is a specific relationship between movement speed, amplitude, and accuracy that is known as Fitts' law. We investigated the validity of Fitts' law for grasping movements in normal and microgravity. Method: Subjects performed grasping movements toward virtual targets under three different time constraint conditions before and during exposure to microgravity in parabolic flights. Results: The "speed-accuracy trade-off" phenomenon was observed for the grasp component of prehension movements. The results were quantitatively similar in normal and microgravity such that increasing the speed resulted in a diminished accuracy. Conclusions: Fitts' law is partially valid for grasping movements toward virtual targets without visual feedback of the hand in normal gravity. In a microgravity environment, performance of grasping movements also follows some of the predictions of Fitts' law.Keywords: prehension, speed-accuracy trade-off, sensorimotor control, parabolic flight, adaptation, human. Information on subscribing, and on obtaining copies of an article or of an entire issue. Table of Contents for Volume 73, Number 5 of the ASME journal.
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