Head-Mounted and Hand-Held Displays Diminish the Effectiveness of Fall-Resisting Skills

Weber, Anika; Werth, Julian; Epro, Gaspar; Friemert, Daniel; Hartmann, Ulrich; Lambrianides, Yiannis; Seeley, John; Nickel, Peter; Karamanidis, Kiros

doi:10.3390/s22010344

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Head-Mounted and Hand-Held Displays Diminish the Effectiveness of Fall-Resisting Skills

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Sport and Exercise Science Research Centre, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK

Department of Mathematics and Technology, University of Applied Sciences Koblenz, 53424 Remagen, Germany

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (IFA), 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Emiliano Schena

Sensors 2022, 22(1), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22010344

Received: 30 November 2021 / Revised: 23 December 2021 / Accepted: 28 December 2021 / Published: 4 January 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuromechanical Principles of Perturbed and Unperturbed Motion Control)

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Abstract

Use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) and hand-held displays (HHDs) may affect the effectiveness of stability control mechanisms and impair resistance to falls. This study aimed to examine whether the ability to control stability during locomotion is diminished while using HMDs and HHDs. Fourteen healthy adults (21–46 years) were assessed under single-task (no display) and dual-task (spatial 2-n-back presented on the HMD or the HHD) conditions while performing various locomotor tasks. An optical motion capture system and two force plates were used to assess locomotor stability using an inverted pendulum model. For perturbed standing, 57% of the participants were not able to maintain stability by counter-rotation actions when using either display, compared to the single-task condition. Furthermore, around 80% of participants (dual-task) compared to 50% (single-task) showed a negative margin of stability (i.e., an unstable body configuration) during recovery for perturbed walking due to a diminished ability to increase their base of support effectively. However, no evidence was found for HMDs or HHDs affecting stability during unperturbed locomotion. In conclusion, additional cognitive resources required for dual-tasking, using either display, are suggested to result in delayed response execution for perturbed standing and walking, consequently diminishing participants’ ability to use stability control mechanisms effectively and increasing the risk of falls. View Full-Text

Keywords: smart glasses; head-mounted displays; hand-held displays; gait perturbation; stability control mechanisms; falls

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MDPI and ACS Style

Weber, A.; Werth, J.; Epro, G.; Friemert, D.; Hartmann, U.; Lambrianides, Y.; Seeley, J.; Nickel, P.; Karamanidis, K. Head-Mounted and Hand-Held Displays Diminish the Effectiveness of Fall-Resisting Skills. Sensors 2022, 22, 344. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22010344

AMA Style

Weber A, Werth J, Epro G, Friemert D, Hartmann U, Lambrianides Y, Seeley J, Nickel P, Karamanidis K. Head-Mounted and Hand-Held Displays Diminish the Effectiveness of Fall-Resisting Skills. Sensors. 2022; 22(1):344. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22010344

Chicago/Turabian Style

Weber, Anika, Julian Werth, Gaspar Epro, Daniel Friemert, Ulrich Hartmann, Yiannis Lambrianides, John Seeley, Peter Nickel, and Kiros Karamanidis. 2022. "Head-Mounted and Hand-Held Displays Diminish the Effectiveness of Fall-Resisting Skills" Sensors 22, no. 1: 344. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22010344

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Head-Mounted and Hand-Held Displays Diminish the Effectiveness of Fall-Resisting Skills

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