RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 How baseball outfielders determine where to run to catch fly balls
JF Science
JO Science
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP 569
OP 573
DO 10.1126/science.7725104
VO 268
IS 5210
A1 McBeath, MK
A1 Shaffer, DM
A1 Kaiser, MK
YR 1995
UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/268/5210/569.abstract
AB Current theory proposes that baseball outfielders catch fly balls by selecting a running path to achieve optical acceleration cancellation of the ball. Yet people appear to lack the ability to discriminate accelerations accurately. This study supports the idea that outfielders convert the temporal problem to a spatial one by selecting a running path that maintains a linear optical trajectory (LOT) for the ball. The LOT model is a strategy of maintaining "control" over the relative direction of optical ball movement in a manner that is similar to simple predator tracking behavior.