Avian Terrestrial Locomotion: Evolution, Dynamics, and Computer Vision

双足行走对大多数鸟类的生存至关重要。因此，鸟类代表了运动适应和专业化理论的天然试验平台。到目前为止，近端肢体及其与刚性躯干的复杂耦合在很大程度上被研究所忽视。繁琐的数据处理和必要的精心设计的设置只允许几个典型的studies.By结合现有的数字双平面高速X射线技术与先进的算法（半）自动数据跟踪，比较研究形态学，运动学，动力学和建模，我们打算调查的一般原则，双足运动和适应的鸟类运动系统。我们将专注于三个层次：个体运动差异，物种特异性形态和整体战略的一般运动目标，如速度或稳定性。有必要开发一种新的数据处理工具，以处理产生的大量数据，并满足对基于3D X射线的逆动力学的极端要求。因此，该项目将整合先进的计算机视觉技术，用于自动特征点跟踪和3D运动的重建。我们打算研究在皮带上行走和跑步时运动学的变化是否会转化为质心水平的相应变化。然后，我们将探讨如何在12个精心挑选的物种之间的几何形状和形态的差异表示在本地和全球（COM）的运动学和动力学。我们希望能够扩大我们的理解水平上的腿，躯干和质量中心的鸟类作为两足动物的稳定性，并最终有助于一个新的见解鸟类进化。

Bipedal locomotion is crucial for the survival of most bird species. Birds thus represent a natural testbed for theories on locomotor adaptations and specializations. Aspects of the proximal limb and its complex coupling to the rigid trunk in particular have been largely ignored by research to date. Tedious data processing and the necessarily elaborate setups have only permitted a few exemplary studies.By combining the available digital biplanar high speed x-ray technology with advanced algorithms for (semi-) automatic data tracking, comparative studies in morphology, kinematics, kinetics and modeling, we intend to investigate general principles of bipedal locomotion and adaptations of the avian locomotor system. We will focus on three levels: individual motor variance, species-specific morphology and global strategies for general movement goals such as speed or stability. It will be necessary to develop a new tool for data processing in order to handle the enormous amount of data produced and meet the extreme demands that will be placed on 3D x-ray-based inverse dynamics. As a result, this project will integrate pioneering computer vision techniques for automatic feature point tracking and the reconstruction of 3D motion.We intend to investigate whether the variability of the kinematics of locomotion while walking and running on a belt translates into corresponding variation at the level of the centre of mass. We will then explore how differences in geometry and morphology between 12 carefully selected species are expressed in local and global (COM) kinematics and kinetics. We hope to be able to expand our understanding of stability on the level of the leg, the trunk and the centre of mass in birds as bipedal animals, and finally to contribute to a new insight into avian evolution.