Edewaard and colleagues [1] claim that cyclists should mount tail lights on their ankles to improve visibility. In this project, we'll re-examine that claim, attempting to quantify the "importance of the ankles" (relative to other joints) when a cyclist is seen from different viewpoints (eg., profile, frontal, oblique), at different viewing distances, and for different viewing durations (eg., 500ms versus 2000ms). We'll do this rigorously [2], using Mechanical Engineering's (1) motion capture lab, and (2) brain-computer interface lab (where we can do precise vision testing).
You need to be able to program in Matlab. Prior experience of (or a keen interest to learn) motion capture, experimental design, and signal & image processing, is desirable. And, ideally, you're a cyclist!
Starting points: [1] Edewaard, D. E., Fekety, D. K., Szubski, E. C., & Tyrrell, R. A. (2020). Highlighting bicyclist biological motion enhances their conspicuity in daylight. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 142, 105575. [2] Neri, P., Morrone, M. C., & Burr, D. C. (1998). Seeing biological motion. Nature, 395(6705), 894-896.
Keywords: biomechatronics, design of real-time software, Matlab, signal and image processing, visual perception
Undergraduate
None
Motion Capture Lab (405.836E, Lab)