Animal Simulation Laboratory Wiki:Current events
From Animal Simulation Laboratory Wiki
Contents |
30th April 2010
We've just been features in a New Scientist article. It's in print and on the website at: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18728-achilles-tendon-is-key-to-evolution-of-human-running.html
25th March 2010
Two new papers have just come out:
Karl T. Bates; Phillip L. Manning; Lee Margetts; William I. Sellers (2010) Sensitivity Analysis in Evolutionary Robotic Simulations of Bipedal Dinosaur Running. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30:458-466.
and
William Irvin Sellers & Todd C. Pataky & Paolo Caravaggi & Robin Huw Crompton (online published version) Evolutionary Robotic Approaches in Primate Gait Analysis. International Journal of Primatology 31:321-338
The models for this latter paper are available at http://www.animalsimulation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54
15th January 2010
We've just put up some CT data on the main web site. A black throated diver, a barn owl and two Rodriguez fruit bats. There are a couple of other tiny bats that were obviously in the bag when we did the scanning. These are Seba's short-tailed bats. Anyway if you want to see them go to http://www.animalsimulation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=16&Itemid=19
12th December 2009
The University was keen to put out a press release on the dinosaur papers so here it is:
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=5303
The most amusing coverage is by the Manchester Evening News including photographs and movies:
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1185658_when_dinosaurs_hopped_the_earth
1st December 2009
Another 2 papers out. 2009 looks like a bumper year!
Sellers, W.I., Manning, P.L., Lyson, T., Stevens, K., and Margetts, L., 2009. Virtual Palaeontology: Gait Reconstruction of Extinct Vertebrates Using High Performance Computing. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 12, Issue 3; 11A: 26p; http://palaeo-electronica.org/2009_3/180/index.html
Bates, Karl T., Falkingham, Peter L., Breithaupt, Brent H., Hodgetts, David, Sellers, William I., and Manning, Phillip L., 2009. How Big Was ‘Big Al’? Quantifying the effect of soft tissue and osteological unknowns on mass predictions for Allosaurus (Dinosauria:Theropoda). Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 12, Issue 3; 14A: 33p; http://palaeo-electronica.org/2009_3/186/index.html
16th November 2009
Just out:
Watson, J., Payne, R., Chamberlain, A., Jones, R. & Sellers, W. 2009 The kinematics of load carrying in humans and great apes: implications for the evolution of human bipedalism. Folia Primatologia 80, 309-328. (DOI: 10.1159/000258646) Please email me if you can't get a copy elsewhere mailto:William.Sellers@manchester.ac.uk
12th November 2009
A new version of GaitSym (V2.0.0) has just been released. This is a major improvement including:
- Complete revamp of user interface using Qt for cross platform support
- Command line no longer necessary to run models
- Much faster rendering allowing quick interaction with highly complex models
- Extended data output options and better documentation
- Improved data matching support
You can read about the new version at http://www.animalsimulation.org
You can download it directly from http://www.animalsimulation.org/software/GaitSym/GaitSym_2.0.0.zip
7th November 2009
Phil Manning is currently travelling the world filming for a new dinosaur programme. Various members of the group have been helping him. This programme will be out in 2010 so look out for it.
Bill Sellers will be visiting Phil on his travels for a few weeks of filming.
Simon Furnell looks like he will actually make it out to Madagascar early in 2009 after all.
Karl Bates has just given a talk entitled: "Exploring the locomotor dynamics of large animals using evolutionary robotics" for the National Grid Computer Service (UK) Innovation Forum in London on the 21st October.
