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Effects Of Optimal Tactile Feedback In Balancing Tasks: A Pilot Study, Emmanouil Tzorakoleftherakis, Ferdinando Mussa-Ivaldi, Robert Scheidt, Todd Murphey

Robert Scheidt

In this study, we employ optimal control and tactile feedback to teach subjects how to balance a simulated inverted pendulum. The output of a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) was converted to a vibratory teacher-signal and was provided as additional somatosensory feedback to the subjects. The LQR approach is consistent with an energy-saving strategy commonly observed during human motor learning. Our rationale for using the inverted pendulum as a criterion task is that this balance system requires the brain to solve many of the same problems encountered in simple tasks of daily living like transporting a glass of water to the …