Transitioning from Saccade to Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements using Linear Quadratic Tracking Control

Abstract

An optimal linear quadratic tracking controller (LQTC) which emulates smooth pursuit eye movements has been shown to accurately track various motion profiles in the presence of neural transmission delays. However, the initial orientation of the eye relative to the location of where a target first becomes salient affects the time course in which the desired trajectory is fully acquired. It is shown that a control strategy that incorporates a latent saccade to rapidly reposition the gaze to a predicted point on the trajectory path, then transitions the engagement smoothly using the LQTC, produces eye movements consistent with experimental observations.