Hand Grasping Synergies As Biometrics.

Recently, the need for more secure identity verification systems has driven researchers to explore other sources of biometrics. This includes iris patterns, palm print, hand geometry, facial recognition, and movement patterns (hand motion, gait, and eye movements). Identity verification systems may benefit from the complexity of human movement that integrates multiple levels of control (neural, muscular, and kinematic).

Synergy Repetition Training versus Task Repetition Training in Acquiring New Skill.

Traditionally, repetitive practice of a task is used to learn a new skill, exhibiting as immediately improved performance. Research suggests, however, that a more experience-based rather than exposure-based training protocol may allow for better transference of the skill to related tasks. In synergy-based motor control theory, fundamental motor skills, such as hand grasping, are represented with a synergy subspace that captures essential motor patterns.

Low-Dimensional Synergistic Representation of Bilateral Reaching Movements.

Kinematic and neuromuscular synergies have been found in numerous aspects of human motion. This study aims to determine how effectively kinematic synergies in bilateral upper arm movements can be used to replicate complex activities of daily living (ADL) tasks using a sparse optimization algorithm. Ten right-handed subjects executed 18 rapid and 11 natural-paced ADL tasks requiring bimanual coordination while sitting at a table.

An appraisal of the classic forest succession paradigm with the shade tolerance index.

In this paper we revisit the classic theory of forest succession that relates shade tolerance and species replacement and assess its validity to understand patch-mosaic patterns of forested ecosystems of the USA. We introduce a macroscopic parameter called the "shade tolerance index" and compare it to the classic continuum index in southern Wisconsin forests. We exemplify shade tolerance driven succession in White Pine-Eastern Hemlock forests using computer simulations and analyzing approximated chronosequence data from the USDA FIA forest inventory.