Forget kids sitting motionless in front of their computers with a console controlling the action. When a researcher at the University of Dundee proves his new idea works, they will be able to join in the on-screen action.
Stephen McKenna and his team have just secured money from the Scottish Executive to prove their concept for software to mimic human movements in the Proof of Concept funding round. He says that an image on a computer screen will be able to show the movement of people in front of it - running, jumping, waving - any motion - using just a domestic PC and camera - without any special clothing or sensors on their bodies.
And more than mimicking movement, the beauty of this new software is that it does not merely track and mimic the visual, but collects and analyses data from the movement it sees. Imagine a golfer practising his swing. As well as being able to watch himself preparing and following through, the software will produce an accurate analysis of the all important physics of his movement so he can compare the essentials of his swing with the pros. Stephen and his research associates Gordon McAllister and Tim Roberts think that their software will be useful not only in the entertainment industry, but could be used in the health sphere to screen people's walking for problems. Through this gait analysis, doctors could determine the nature of a walking defect.
This is just one of the three projects at the University of Dundee awarded funding in the Proof of Concept round. Two other projects in the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Life Sciences have been awarded funding to prove their technology.
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk