Assume a Spherical Chicken: Analytic Constraints, Inertia Tensor Information, and Wielded Rod Length Perception. Issue 6 (2nd November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cabe, Patrick A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of motor behavior. Volume 51:Issue 6(2019)
• Page Start: 698
• Page End: 714
• Publication Date: 2019-11-02
• Subjects: dynamic touch -- rod length -- wielding -- information analysis -- inertia tensor; Human mechanics -- Periodicals; Movement, Psychology of -- Periodicals; Motor Activity -- Periodicals; Motor Skills -- Periodicals; Bewegingsleer; Mécanique humaine -- Périodiques; Psychomotricité -- Périodiques; 612.705
• DOI: 10.1080/00222895.2019.1565527
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-2895

Abstract

Abstract: Information associated with the inertia tensor is the preeminent explanation for haptic perception of object properties, notably wielded rod length. Critics counter that tensorial-based information requires non-tensorial supplementation (mass, torque). However, those critiques omit important constraints. With relevant constraints included, the inertia tensor alone completely specifies rod length. I list constraints inherent (but tacit) in haptic rod length perception, and show that object properties associated with the inertia tensor are invariant, even with constraints removed, by involving (a) longitudinal moment equivalents for rod mass and (b) derivatives of moments with respect to varying rotation axes. Analytic outcomes show tensorial-based information is a robust basis for wielded rod length perception, and suggest open questions for empirical exploration.