The aim of this study is to gain insight into how people maintain their balance while performing seated reaches. The requirement to maintain balance is a significant contributor to reach difficulty, and in some cases exceeds strength and range of mot ion as the primary limiting factor in achieving a specific reach. Maintaining balance is often more difficult for people who use wheelchairs, particularly for those with a spinal cord injury. A better understanding of balance-maintaining behavior will allow development and improvement of tools for the design of workspaces and other environments. This paper details a method for investigating the role of balance in seated reaches and presents preliminary results.

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