Time point of maximum acceleration

Computes the index of the peak acceleration of a trajectory, defined by vectors of x and y coordinates, and assumed to be equidistant in time.

Usage

index_max_acceleration(x_vector, y_vector, absolute = FALSE)

Arguments

x_vector

x-coordinates of the executed path.

y_vector

y-coordinates of the executed path.

absolute

Should negative accelerations (i.e., deceleration) be included? Defaults to FALSE.

Value

Single number indicating the index of peak acceleration (1 to +Inf).

Details

The supplied vectors are assumed to be ordered by time with equal time differences.

References

Wirth, R., Foerster, A., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2020). Design choices: Empirical recommendations for designing two-dimensional finger tracking experiments. Behavior Research Methods, 52, 2394 - 2416. doi:10.3758/s13428-020-01409-0

Examples

x_vals <- c(0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 14, 15)
y_vals <- c(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
index_max_acceleration(x_vals, y_vals)
#> [1] 4
# acceleration maximal between x_vals[4] and x_vals[5]