Instrumented split-belt treadmill with VR functionality for human locomotion analysis

在日常生活和运动中，人类的运动动作对成功完成任务至关重要。来自KIT体育与运动科学研究所（IfSS）的跨学科申请团队的核心研究活动集中在运动运动的控制和生物力学，这些运动如何受到训练和学习，肌肉骨骼疾病（如骨关节炎）或与年龄相关的退化过程和疾病（如痴呆）的影响。此外，还讨论了人机交互领域的各种主题。例如，运动技术（如跑鞋）、医疗技术（如矫形器）或机器人组件（如外骨骼）对人体运动运动的控制和生物力学的影响。此外，还进行了生物标志物的研究，以便早期识别临界过载情况。申请的大型研究设备是一个跑步机，它为IfSS提供了一个独特的研究环境，在生态有效的同时控制条件下解决上述概述的研究课题。特别值得注意的是跑步机的多种功能，例如两个独立的带集成力测量单元；各种摄动选项；以不同的速度和倾斜度运动，可自行选择或预设速度；虚拟现实（VR）功能，在跑步机前面的投影屏幕上为不同的运动场景提供实时视觉反馈，这与跑步机的运动同步（例如倾斜和扰动）；时间同步集成额外的测量系统（例如运动捕捉）和通过投影屏幕实时显示生物力学变量，用于步态训练应用。所申请的跑步机通过可修改的系统软件集成并同步上述所有功能。因此，跑步机可以用于复杂的生物力学分析实验，并且在干预研究的背景下是一种强大的训练设备。所申请的跑步机完全适合IfSS现有的实验室基础设施（例如，与现有的运动捕捉系统兼容）。该设备使申请人团队能够在人体运动的背景下解决新的跨学科研究问题。此外，它还支持在体育科学（例如，运动控制、生物力学和健康科学）、医学（例如，骨科和生理学）以及计算机科学和工程（例如，机器人技术）的界面上，更好地整合IfSS和KIT的教授职位之间针对各种社会相关目标群体的研究。

Human locomotion movements are of paramount importance for a successful task completion in everyday life and sports. Central research activities of the interdisciplinary applicant team from the Institute of Sports and Sports Science (IfSS) at KIT focus on the control and biomechanics of locomotion movements, how these are affected by training and learning, musculoskeletal disorders (e.g. osteoarthritis) or age-related degradation processes and diseases (e.g. dementia). In addition, various topics in the field of human-technology interaction are addressed. For example, the influence of sports technologies (e.g. running shoes), medical technologies (e.g. orthoses) or robotic components (e.g. exoskeletons) on the control and biomechanics of human locomotion movements. Moreover, research on biomarkers is conducted for early identification of critical overload situations. The large-scale research device applied for is a treadmill that offers the IfSS a unique research environment for addressing the above outlined research topics under ecologically valid and at the same time controlled conditions. Particularly noteworthy are the diverse functionalities of the treadmill, such as two separate belts with integrated force measurement units; various perturbation options; locomotion at different speeds and inclinations with self-selected or preset speed; a virtual reality (VR) functionality that provides real-time visual feedback for different movement scenarios on a projection screen in front of the treadmill, which is synchronized with the movements of the treadmill (e.g. inclines and perturbations); time-synchronous integration of additional measuring systems (e.g. motion capture) and the real-time display of biomechanical variables via a projection screen for gait training applications. The treadmill applied for integrates and synchronizes all the above-mentioned functionalities by a modifiable system software. Consequently, the treadmill can be used in experiments for complex biomechanical analysis and is additionally a powerful training device in the context of intervention studies. The treadmill applied for fits perfectly into the existing laboratory infrastructure at the IfSS (e.g. compatibility with the existing motion capture system). The device enables the applicant team to address new, cross-disciplinary research questions in the context of human locomotion. Furthermore, it supports a better integration of research between the professorships at IfSS and the KIT for various, socially relevant target groups at the interface of sports science (e.g., motor control, biomechanics and health sciences), medicine (e.g., orthopedics and physiology) as well as computer science and engineering (e.g., robotics).