So the human movement lab is a multi-functional laboratory and as the name suggests, we use it to analyse human movement in a variety of different contexts and sporting applications.
The unique selling point in particular is the instrumented treadmill that you see behind me here, which has embedded force platforms within it allowing us to analyse running motion, capture ground reaction forces in three directions, and from this, we can gain insights into athletes performance, injury risk, and also their asymmetry.
The lab will be used by students on our undergraduate and postgraduate courses. From a teaching perspective, it does allow students to really get hands-on in collecting data and apply that theory to practice, which they learn about in their lectures. It allows them to be integrated to within the work that we do with our partners in supporting our local clubs, organisations, and athletes.
Working with partners like Leeds United is invaluable and it's mutually beneficial. It allows us to provide added insights to what they would usually be able to gain from field-based testing, and this helps inform their training, their testing, and their injury prevention strategies.
The facility is a great addition to some already fantastic laboratory facilities that we already have. It expands the range of options that students have in conducting their research, and because of the versatility of the space and the fact that it bridges onto the athletics track, allows a great range of options in what students are able to look at in their own research.
A real plus point of the facility is the fact that it allows different measurement systems to be integrated together, and as well as that, other systems from physiology for instance can be integrated together allowing real interdisciplinary teaching and research to be conducted.