A Q&A with Aanuoluwapo Ojelade, PhD Candidate from Virginia Tech Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab. The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United StatesWe spoke with PhD Candidate Aanuoluwapo Ojelade, to get known how they are using iPi Soft (https://www.ipisoft.com/) technology in their research.

Q. Please describe the areas at Virginia Tech that are using iPi Motion Capture.

We are part of the Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab at Industrial and Systems Engineering Dept. We are using iPi Mocap software to quantify whole-body kinematics as alternative to using marker-based motion capture and inertial measurement unit sensors in our studies.

Q. How long has the iPi Motion Capture been in use at Virginia Tech  ?

We have been using iPi Mocap for more than two years now.

Q. How did the   Virginia Tech   team first hear about the software?

We learned about iPi software in other research articles and research blog posts.

Q. Please describe in detail how iPi Motion Capture is being used at Virginia Tech.

We are using iPi Motion Capture to capture whole-body kinematics during manual material handling tasks. We extract body joint data in terms of joint positions and rotations and used these data to define physical exposure assessments related to the task performed.

We are also using iPi Mocap during construction-related tasks to quantify physical exposures associated with the tasks.

Q.  How many people (students, teachers) have the opportunity to work with iPi Mocap?

Five (three students, 2 professors) are working with iPi Mocap

Q.  Does using iPi Motion Capture improve upon a previous workflow, or is this something completely new?

It does improve upon previous workflow. We are using iPi Mocap as an alternative approach to quantifying whole-body kinematics.

Q.  What are the major advantages of iPi Motion Capture vs competing products that made you choose it for your work?

Using iPi Mocap, we do not have to spend hours fixing markers or placing sensors on participants. We can start data collection in minutes. Also, we do not have to spend valuable time filling in markers. Instead, we leverage advance processing in iPi Mocap to edit and track kinematics.

Q.  Where do you see the future of markerless motion capture use in your area?

In our field, markerless motion capture has the potential to be used in-situ to monitor whole-body kinematics without interrupting workflow or causing discomfort from straps. Also, markerless motion capture is not limited by battery life. Overall, this product could be adopted to develop proactive ergonomics interventions for workers.

Q.  Please describe a particular project iPi Motion Capture is being used for.

We are using data obtained from iPi Motion Capture to automatically classify manual material handling tasks.