APAS.

The Ariel Performance Analysis System (APAS) is the most advanced computer-based system for the measurement, analysis, and presentation of movement performance. The study of the motion of living things is known as "Biomechanics" and it has evolved from a fusion of the classic disciplines of anatomy, physiology, physics, and engineering. Biomechanical quantification are based on Newtonian equations and the APAS analytic technique models the human body as a mechanical system of moving segments upon which muscular, gravitational, inertial, and reaction forces are applied. Although the system has primarily been used for quantification of human activities, it has had some industrial, non-human applications. The computerized hardware/software technique provides a means to objectively quantify the dynamic components of movement and replaces mere observation and supposition.

The APAS demonstrates significant advantages over other common approaches to movement systems:

• First, except for specific applications requiring EMG or kinetic (force platform) data, it is non-invasive. No wires, sensors, or markers need be attached to the subject.
• Second, it is portable and rarely requires any modification of the performing environment. Cameras can be transported to the site and positioned so as not to interfere with the subject.
• Third, the scale and accuracy of measurement can be set to the levels required for the activity being performed. Video equipment technology currently available is sufficiently adequate for most applications requiring accurate motion analysis and is normally the least expensive option, particularly when two or more cameras are needed.

The ability to record the activity as a picture has a number of advantages:

• It allows the scientist to make intellectual decisions regarding the joint center at each frame rather than using markers attached at the skin's surface.
• Subsequent quantification would be possible since the video can be re-examined at any time.
• Stick figure results can be overlapped with the video pictures for effective result presentations.

Applications of the APAS usage include many areas of interest:

• Sport or athletic applications have included volleyball, soccer, American football, tennis, track and field events, horse racing and jumping, and golf;
• Medical research is using the APAS to quantify movement in Parkinson patients with and without drugs and before and after surgical procedures;
• Job quantification;
• Task improvement;
• Post-injury assessment;
• Employment evaluations;
• Risk assessment;
• Worker's compensation;
• Disability evaluations;
• Ergonomic evaluations of job tasks;
• Job standardization can be useful in the workplace;
• Industrial applications include product design, analysis, and improvement as well as such things as manufacturing hardware performances such as piston movement accuracy;
• Artistic endeavors, such as playing the violin, the harp, and the piano, have been examined biomechanically by APAS applications;
• Mammalian research has examined thoroughbred race horse performance, feline locomotion, and monkey jumping performance;
• Forensic analysis have included injuries sustained in football, gymnastics, horse racing, and running shoes;
• Space Research have included number of research studies at NASA;
• Rehabilitative usage include pre- and post-hip replacement functioning, gait analysis, and comparisons of bilateral functions.