Stanford's Open Source Human Motion Software

eldavojohn writes "Stanford's OpenSim software is a human motion modeling package that is currently making the rounds at museums where 'visitors walk across a pressure-sensitive floor and are presented at the other side with color-coded print outs of their weight distribution, identifying even slight imbalances that might be putting undue stress on their limbs and joints.' This project can also help with planning surgery (video). The work has been published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (note that this is a different effort from the virtual world of the same name). Although Stanford's press release says it is now open source, I cannot find what license they are using, nor can I access their SVN browser after registering."

Comments

Is there a word for that?

[blair1q]

There should be a word for drawing attention to something that could have a completely different explanation.

"Bullshit" seems a bit broad.

If my weight is slightly imbalanced, it's probably because, like all humans, I am built asymmetrically, and I carry things in my pockets, or hands, or slung over my shoulder. And unless I am feeling pain it is unlikely that undue stress is being put on any part of my body.

Re:Is there a word for that?

[bennomatic]

Well, you can have a lot of undue stress before pain comes; don't confuse "undue" with "acute". You could sit, maybe without noticing it at all, in a chair that has a 2-degree lean without feeling any pain for a long time. But that tilt could conceivably train your body to work at a less-than-optimal angle, and you could be building up strength to support it which later--when you get a good chair--causes your body to pull even further out of alignment.

Or another undue-vs-acute example might be pack-a-day smokers. They often feel great about it. For years! Until suddenly they don't, and it's difficult to quit. Just because they weren't feeling pain doesn't mean they weren't stressing their bodies.