Research Area
Biomedical and Biologically Motivated Technical ApplicationsResearchers
Collaborators
Enrico ChiovettoDescription
In order to provide a highly controlled setup for the recording of arm movements that are coordinated with walking movements, we have developed a novel virtual reality setup combining motion capture using a VICON system and stereoscopic presentation using a setup with Dolby 3D stereo projectors.
•10 camera, 4 projectors.
•Online generation of 3D stimuli can be controlled by the actual motion capture data that is analyze in real time.
•During data collection participants perform a stationary walking pattern on a treadmill.
•Visual stimuli synchronized with different footstep events. By specifying different goal positions and timings of its appearance, we will specify different required coordinative couplings between the arm and the leg movements, at the same time motion capturing the body and arm movements.
The resulting data are used to study in detail the integration of gait and arm synergies during the coordination of locomotion and reaching. To this aim, motion capture data are being used to analyze the data. In addition, data are also serving as basis for the modeling of the control of such movements using a dynamical systems.
Experimental setup to collect kinematic data for the study of the coordination of reaching movements with walking movements. The setup combines motion capture on a treadmill with a virtual reality setup that presents target objects with precise spatio-temporal relationship to the actual step phase and position of the participants. The four projectors (two for each half the spherical screen), allow the display in space of virtual objects (specifically spheres, represented in red in the schema above) in front of the subject, which is walking at constant pace on the treadmill. Reflective markers are applied to the subject and their spatial positions are recorded by the infrared Vicon cameras. The Vicon workstation communicates with the controller of the virtual reality system through TCP/IP.