Understanding the role of vision in the control of action has become an important goal for research in vision science and cognitive science.  Over the past few decades, and especially in recent years, many basic questions about the function of vision have been addressed by studying how people perform both routine tasks, such as walking and reaching, as well as tasks that require a greater degree of skill, such as those that are performed by professional athletes.  What role, if any, does visual space play in the control of action?  How do people see the possibilities for action that are offered by the environment?  Is visual control mediated by internal models of the dynamics of the body and the environment?  What is the nature of the visual information that is used to guide movement? 

Research in the PandA Labs is aimed at addressing these questions in the context of visually guided actions, such as steering, braking, and intercepting moving objects.  Experiments are conducted in virtual and simulated environments, which provide powerful tools for manipulating and controlling aspects of the task and environment, and for recording movements of the actor.  For information about specific goals of current research projects that are being conducted in the PandA Labs, please click on one of the links above.