Motion Capture System for the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre

2019/S 018-037855

Sheffield Hallam University is one of the most progressive and innovative universities in the country. It has an annual turnover exceeding £260 million and employs over 4400 staff. The University has over 30000 students enrolled (including more than 2000 overseas students) across more than six hundred courses. Of these, 24000 are undergraduate students and over 6000 are postgraduates (taught and research). The University is a Higher Education Corporation as defined under the Education Reform Act 1988, and also enjoys exempt charitable status by virtue of that Act. The University includes all wholly owned subsidiaries of the University, including but not limited to SHULaw.

The University requires a Motion Capture Analysis System for the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing (HWB) at the University's Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC), which is currently under construction on the site of Sheffield's Olympic Legacy Park.

Motion capture systems enable 3D assessment of movement capability and are critical to the description and explanation of human and mechanical movement. Direct applications of the use of motion capture systems range from the measurement of segmental speed and rotation in a golf swing, to changes in segmental sequencing as a result of an exercise intervention for patients with diseases that impair basic movement.

Motion capture systems are an essential part of biomechanics infrastructure as they allow the measurement of kinematics. In combination with force plate systems, they allow the inference of joint moments and powers, which are important for assessment of movement in both sporting and healthcare contexts.

The motion capture system will benefit the AWRC project by facilitating multi-disciplinary academic expertise from sports and materials engineering, psychology, health and social care and software development. Examples of motion capture applications include investigations of footwear on artificial turf, the biomechanics of turning in athletes and exercise interventions that help improve walking or daily living capabilities in elderly adults.

The Motion Capture System is to interface with the AWRC Force Plates (Project reference 1819-45-HWB-SAS)