Department of Sports Science
Research area VI - Motor Control and Training
Biomechanics lab
In the Biomechanics lab the kinematics and dynamics of complex human motion are investigated. Additionally, the lab provides means to conduct experiments in a virtual reality environment. This research-site uses state-of-the-art equipment to measure 3d motion in real-time and to provide online feedback of kinematic and dynamic parameters of human action.
Research topics
Motor hysteresis as a proxy for motor planning
In sequential reaching tasks, the grasp postures we select depend on our movement history (Rosenbaum & Jorgensen 1992). For example, when we open a column of slotted drawers in descending order, we use an overhand grasp for the highest drawer and persist on this grasp...
Motor primitives in reaching movements
Many of the seemingly simple tasks we conduct in our daily lives, such as reaching for an object, require a series of sensorimotor transformations which map the object's position on our retina to an appropriate muscle activation pattern. A number of these transformations...
Mutual interference of motor and working memory tasks
Due to its cognitive demands, motor planning disrupts working memory in the same manner as other intervening cognitive tasks (Lawrence et al. 2001). This holds true even for the simplest reaching tasks (Logan & Fischman 2011). In a sequential reaching task...
Subliminal social priming in a sports scenario
The unconscious influence of external stimuli on human behavior has long been of interest and is still being debated (Molden 2014). The most common method to investigate a subliminal influence of stimuli on behavior is masked priming (Ansorge et al. 2014). In this paradigm...
Lab Panorama
Lab equipment
- 12 Vicon MX-F20 cameras (480 fps, 2.04 megapixel)
- 16 Vicon Vero v2.2 cameras (330 fps, 2.23 megapixel)
- 2 Vicon MX Ultranets with A/D converter (64 channels, max. 192 000 sps, 16 bit resolution)
- 3 AMTI force plates (strain gage, 3d forces/torques, max. 8 896 N, Vicon connectable)
- 2 Basler Pilot DV cameras (210 fps, 0.31 megapixel, GigE, Vicon connectable)
- 2 Basler A602fc DV cameras (100 fps, 0.30 megapixel, Firewire, Vicon connectable)
- 2 Canon XEED SX7 wide angle projectors (4 000 lumen, 60 fps, 1.47 megapixel)
- Myon wireless EMG system (16 channels, 2000 Hz, 16 bit resolution, Vicon connectable)
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Myon wireless IMU system (16 channels, 286 Hz, 9-axis [acc/gyr/mag])