Hands-on science to learn what's in an engine

By bringing together very diverse areas of expertise, such as mechanics, physiology, neuroscience, psychology and sociology, the research of the teams at the Etienne-Jules Marie Institute of Movement Sciences leads to many applications with lasting partnerships such as the 5-year collaboration with Decathlon for example . Without forgetting heavyweight companies such as Airbus. Divided into three teams, the scientists dissect the mechanics of human motor skills, but they also draw a lot of inspiration from nature. ” This is called biomimicry. » explains Patrick Santon, CNRS engineer at ISM.

The researchers have advanced tools, such as a fully equipped gymnasium for taking measurements, in addition to a centrifuge, which is a virtual device to test decision-making while driving or walking tests for elderly people. But it's time to go diving in the bays or shooting… always virtually of course. ” Here is the cave, a virtual reality cave », describes Manon Viseu, study director at the Center for Virtual Reality of the Mediterranean (CRVM) for three years, installed in front of a giant screen articulated in several blocks. The equipment, dating back to 2007, is still effective but expensive, but helmets are gradually overtaking it. ” Half a million euros for 700 Euros for the helmet » The young woman communicates with a machine in hand. To support researchers, CRVM has also become a development studio that submits applications to universities and other companies.

All the light on Mars

The principle remains the same: 60 images per second for the left eye, and the same for the right eye, alternating very quickly to ensure 3D. Interaction between the virtual world and the real world is also ensured by tags connected to infrared cameras. All we're missing are smells and touch… We're not there yet, admits Manon. However, it's easy to put yourself in the shoes of an Olympic athlete, an app created for the 13 Division Council before setting off for the Red Planet.

” On the Moon we weigh 16% of our weight, and on Mars 65%. “We're wearing what looks like a diving suit. Zip and we're attached to what looks like a treadmill,” Patrick Santon explains. A machine donated by NASA in 2010 for use as a research tool “The researcher adds. We go slowly before we get to work because ” We all have our own speed of transition “The sensation is strange, we lean forward imperceptibly.

As you get lighter, the pace changes too. It is enough to discover the defects and adapt the rehabilitation of their patients to the orthopedic surgeons in Timon or St. Margaret. This is also where obese young people come to experiment with their healthy weight.

Then, surprise, we jumped on the moon. ” We can't run because we walk faster than we run so we tend to adopt a flanking motion, which is what Hergé described in Tintin on the Moon » Patrick Santon laughs. “It is also a natural reaction.” We have a heritage of horses, of trotting horses, and it is deep within us, and it is entrenched “The researcher tells us.

Getting back to Earth is complicated. ” We want to know why we adapt quickly to an unknown situation and less quickly to a known situation. » He continues.

Let us take the example of Thomas Pesquet. Which is up to 5 Hours of running and exercising daily on the International Space Station using rubber bands weighing up to 140% of your body weight, but that's still not enough.. When we return from space, we deprogram ourselves on a neurological level “. A machine similar to that of the ISM serves ” Day after day, to regain a percentage of weight and normal movement within 15 days, three weeks » Patrick Santon specifies before jumping on a kind of board placed on the floor next to the treadmill. A ” A six-component platform specifically allows exploration of the center of mass “We then discover that the oscillation of our body is a sign of good health, that the arms contribute to producing 20% ​​of our energy when we run, and that our ability to chew is also important, even to blink our eyelids. Another discovery, a study conducted in Marseille-Cassis showed that women recover They sweat more quickly than men and it remains to be seen why…