MRI: Acquisition of a Motion Capture System to Facilitate Multidisciplinary Research Efforts and Enhance Undergraduate Research Training

这项重大研究仪器(MRI)拨款支持购买运动捕获系统，用于精确空间跟踪研究人员附着在人类、机器人或其他移动对象上的小标记。该仪器的高精度和快速捕获速度允许将动态模型应用于人体运动，并允许精确跟踪细小、快速的运动，例如使用手指。有了这种跟踪功能，研究人员可以对现实世界任务和工作场所中人类与物体的相互作用做出生物力学和神经力学推断。该仪器将由三个系的初级教师使用，并将扩大现有重叠领域的研究能力，这些领域包括人体工程学和人类因素、触觉、机器人和计算机科学。该仪器还将通过提供经过验证的标准基准测试工具，加强导致自主机器人车辆定位、定位和导航系统以及无标记运动捕获设备的开发和评估的研究。最后，该仪器将用于评估设备设计对攀登行为和人类对垂直平衡扰动的反应的影响。这项研究将有助于为新兴计算技术和工作场所设备提供设计指南和最佳使用实践，以提高用户的工作效率、舒适度和安全性。该仪器还将增加本科生的研究机会，支持新的实验室课堂练习，并丰富STEM的招聘和外联工作。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant supports the acquisition of a motion capture system for the accurate spatial tracking of small markers that researchers attach to humans, robots, or other moving objects. The instrumentation's high-accuracy and fast capture rate allows dynamic models to be applied to human movements and allows precise tracking of small, fast motions, such as with the fingers. With this tracking capability, researchers can make biomechanical and neuromechanical inferences about human interactions with objects during real-world tasks and workplace jobs.The instrument will be used by junior faculty in three departments and will expand existing research capacity in the overlapping areas of ergonomics and human factors, haptics, robotics, and computer science. The instrumentation will also enhance research leading to the development and evaluation of autonomous robotic vehicle localization, targeting, and navigation systems and marker-less motion capture devices by providing a validated, standard benchmarking tool. Finally, the instrumentation will be used to evaluate effects of equipment design on climbing behavior and human responses to vertical balance perturbations. This research will help to inform design guidelines and best use practices for emerging computing technologies and workplace equipment to increase user productivity, comfort, and safety. The instrumentation will also increase research opportunities for undergraduate students, support new laboratory classroom exercises and enrich STEM recruiting and outreach efforts.