Collision avoidance behaviours while young adults avoid a virtual pedestrian approaching on a 45° angle under attentionally demanding conditions

Individuals rely on visual information to determine when to adapt their behaviours (i.e., by changing path and/or speed) to avoid an approaching object or person. After initiating an avoidance behaviour, individuals may control the space (i.e., minimum clearance distance) between themselves and another person or object. The current study aimed to determine the action strategies of young adults while avoiding a virtual pedestrian approaching along a 45° angle in an attentionally demanding task. Twenty-one young adults (22.9 ± 1.9 yrs., 11 males) were immersed in a virtual environment and were instructed to walk along a 7.5 m path towards a goal located along the midline. Two virtual pedestrians (VP) positioned 2.83 m to the left and right of the midline approached participants on a 45° angle. To manipulate the point at which the participants and the VP would intersect during different trials, the VP approached at one of three speeds: 0.8×, 1.0×, or 1.2× each participants' average walking speed. Participants were instructed to walk to a goal without colliding with the VP while performing the attention task; reporting whether a shape changed above the VPs' heads. Results revealed that young adults did not modulate their timing of avoidance to the approach characteristics of the VP, as they consistently avoided the collision 1.67 s after the VP began moving. However, young adults seem to control how they avoid an oncoming collision by maintaining a consistent safety margin after an avoidance behaviour was initiated.