Motion analysis is the science (or art) of comparing sequential still images captured from photographing a body in motion, for the purpose of studying both the simple kinematics (the motions themselves) and the kinetics (the separate forces) involved.
Originally developed in the early 1980s for use in sports medicine, motion analysis involves the recording of visual images of relatively large objects, such as the human body or an animal in movement, via a hardware-software system. Researchers can then analyze the recorded images separately or in sequence, or compare them to other single images or sequences, in order to detect patterns and make predictions.
In the past five years, the applications for motion analysis systems have expanded far beyond uses in sports medicine. Scientists in such fields as orthopedics, kinesiology, general biology, the neurosciences, and bioengineering can benefit from this technique. Motion analysis can be used not only to determine more ...
