Development of Feedforward Control in a Dynamic Manual Tracking Task

Authors: van Roon, Dominique¹; Caeyenberghs, Karen¹; Swinnen, Stephan P.¹; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C. M.

Source: Child Development, Volume 79, Number 4, July/August 2008 , pp. 852-865(14)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

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Abstract:

To examine the development of feedforward control during manual tracking, 117 participants in 5 age groups (6 to 7, 8 to 9, 10 to 11, 12 to 14, and 15 to 17 years) tracked an accelerating dot presented on a monitor by moving an electronic pen on a digitizer. To remain successful at higher target velocities, they had to create a predictive model of the target's motion. The ability to track the target at higher velocities increased, and the application of a feedback-based step-and-hold strategy decreased with age, as shown by increases in maximum target velocity and decreases in number of stops between ages 6-7 and 8-9 and between ages 8-9 and 10-11. The ability to exploit feedforward control in a dynamic tracking task improves significantly with age.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01163.x

Affiliations: 1: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

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