Human movement science
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Human movement science · Dec 2010
Fitts' law holds for pointing movements under conditions of restricted visual feedback.
Fitts' law robustly predicts the time required to move rapidly to a target. However, it is unclear whether Fitts' law holds for visually guided actions under visually restricted conditions. We tested whether Fitts' law applies under various conditions of visual restriction and compared pointing movements in each condition. ⋯ The movement times (MTs) for each task exhibited highly linear relationships with the index of difficulty (r(2)>.96). These findings suggest that pointing movements follow Fitts' law even when visual feedback is restricted or absent. However, the MTs and accuracy of pointing movements decreased for difficult tasks involving visual restriction.
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Human movement science · Dec 2010
Exploring children's movement characteristics during virtual reality video game play.
There is increasing interest in the use of commercially-available virtual reality video gaming systems within pediatric rehabilitation, yet little is known about the movement characteristics of game play. This study describes quantity and quality of movement during Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit game play, explores differences in these movement characteristics between games and between novice and experienced players, and investigates whether motivation to succeed at the game impacts movement characteristics. Thirty-eight children (aged 7-12) with and without previous game experience played Wii (boxing and tennis) and Wii Fit (ski slalom and soccer heading) games. ⋯ Children with previous experience playing Wii Fit games demonstrated greater movement quantity during Wii Fit game play (p<.001); quality of movement did not differ between groups. Motivation to succeed did not influence the relationship between experience and outcomes. Findings enhance clinical understanding of this technology and inform the development of research questions to explore its potential to improve movement skills in children with motor impairments.