News & Announcements
OpenSim lower limb model in Super Bowl Nike commercial
Feb 06, 2017
The Nike commercial during the Super Bowl includes footage from OpenSim and our lower limb model.
View commercial - The model appears around the 25-second mark.
OpenSim simulations yield insights into the design of assistive devices to reduce the metabolic cost of running
Oct 25, 2016
Mobilize Center researcher Thomas Uchida and OpenSim researchers published a paper in PLOS One where they generated muscle-driven simulations of movement to augment experimental data and provide insights into the design of assistive devices to reduce energy consumption during running.
Using the open-source OpenSim software platform, they simulated 10 human subjects running at 2 and 5 m/s to examine the predicted changes in muscle recruitment patterns and metabolic power consumption with assistive devices.
Results from the simulations yielded observations that can be used to form hypotheses for future experimental studies.
Read full article
NIH supports OpenSim for five more years
Nov 24, 2015
We are excited to announce that the OpenSim project has secured an additional five years of funding through the renewal of our NIH-funded National Center for Simulation in Rehabilitation Research (NCSRR). We are grateful to everyone who provided a letter of support for our renewal application, and we thank all members of the community for contributing to the growth and vibrancy of the project by participating in our forum, attending workshops, teaching with OpenSim, and publishing excellent research.
In the coming years, the NCSRR will continue to support and expand the OpenSim project by enhancing the OpenSim software platform and continuing our Visiting Scholars, Pilot Project, OpenSim Fellows, workshop, and online training programs.
OpenSim highlighted in the Nature Toolbox Blog
Oct 04, 2015
The Nature Toolbox blog highlighted OpenSim in a recent story,
Motion studies: See how they run. The article included a broader discussion about the contributions of open-source modeling and simulation software for the study of human and animal locomotion. The article talks about the benefits, and drawbacks, of these large-scale software platforms as well as the communities they can create.
OpenSim gets high marks as a multibody system simulator
Aug 03, 2015
A recent study by Luca Tagliapietra and his University of Padua colleagues demonstrates that the OpenSim, which uses Simbody as its multibody dynamics engine, generates highly accurate simulations of mechanical systems. OpenSim was evaluated using the Multi-Body System (MBS) Benchmark, which consists of five systems ranging from a simple pendulum to an over-constrained system of five rods and six rotational joints (Bricard's mechanism).This work (extended abstract ) was presented at the 2015 European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering (ECCOMAS) Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics (see page 1572 of the Proceedings). You can learn more and download the code that implements the benchmarks in OpenSim here.
OpenSim community members earn awards for their research
Mar 13, 2015
Several students have recently been recognized for their work with OpenSim:
Oregon State University undergraduate Jade Montgomery won two awards from the College of Engineering for her research work conducted with Ravi Balasubramanian. Awards included the Undergraduate Researcher of the Year for 2013 and First Place in the poster competition at "Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence", 2013. Jade used OpenSim to study how effective implanted engineering mechanisms are in tendon-transfer surgery.
Florida high school students Christopher Fregly and Brandon Kim took first place in the Physics and Astronomy category at the Alachua Regional Science Fair. Working with NASA, Fregly and Kim used the OpenSim software to predict simple ways that astronauts could modify the standard squat exercise to be more effective at maintaining muscle mass on the International Space Station.
Vote for OpenSim in the NIH Video Competition!
Apr 28, 2014
You can help us win the NIH Song and Video Competition. Just watch and Click Like for the OpenSim video. The deadline is May 9th. We are excited to be competing with this video in the NIH Common Fund Song and Video Competition. The top 4 or 5 videos with the most "Likes" on YouTube will be shown during the Common Fund 10-Year Commemoration Symposium this June. We'd also appreciate you sharing with other (including colleagues, friends, and family!).
Dynamic Walker Challenge Winners Announced
Apr 24, 2014
Thanks to all participants and congratulations to the winners of the Dynamic Walker Competition: Geena Doak, Matthew Handford, and Alex MacIntosh. They each created dynamic walkers to traverse a complex terrain in OpenSim. See their videos on the OpenSim YouTube page.
OpenSim-based Science Fair Project Wins First Place
Feb 26, 2014
Florida high school students Christopher Fregly and Brandon Kim took first place in the Physics and Astronomy category at the Alachua Regional Science Fair. Working with NASA, Fregly and Kim used the OpenSim software to predict simple ways that astronauts could modify the standard squat exercise to be more effective at maintaining muscle mass on the International Space Station. They will be going on to compete in the Florida State Science Fair in April and in the prestigious Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May. Read more here
Apply for the 2014 Visiting Scholars Program
Dec 18, 2013
Applications for the NCSRR's Visiting Scholar program are now available.
NCSRR Pilot Project Winners Announced
Dec 15, 2013
The NCSRR is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 pilot project awards. See the full list of awardees.
OpenSim Project Wins a Duke's Choice Award
Sep 23, 2013
The Duke's Choice Awards from Oracle and the Java community honor organizations and developers for their creative and innovative uses of Java technology. Ayman Habib accepted the award on behalf of the OpenSim team at the recent JavaOne conference, attended by 60,000 people in San Francisco from September 22-26. Read more here.
Apply to be an OpenSim Fellow
Aug 22, 2013
Apply to become part of the new OpenSim Fellows Program, a new initiative from the OpenSim Project and the NCSRR. Read more and apply here.
Apply for an NCSRR Pilot Project Award
Jul 02, 2013
Applications for the NCSRR's Pilot Project program are now available.
OpenSim Workshop for Pilot Project Awardees
Mar 28, 2013
We held an OpenSim Workshop from March 25-27, 2013 on the Stanford University campus for winners of Outstanding Researcher awards from the NCSRR Pilot Project Program.
Participants had the opportunity to work in small breakout groups with OpenSim experts on their research problems. All the teams made excellent progress toward their research goals. You can read more in the Workshop Wiki page.
2013 Pilot Project Winners Announced
Jan 10, 2013
The NCSRR is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 pilot project awards. See the full list of awardees.
Apply for the 2013 Visiting Scholars Program
Dec 20, 2012
Applications for the NCSRR's Visiting Scholar program are now available.
OpenSim software helps design smart suits for soldiers
Nov 09, 2012
Stanford team receives $1.8M from DARPA to create a simulator to predict soldier performance and injury risk. Read more about the project here.
OpenSim 3.0 Released
Oct 25, 2012
OpenSim 3.0 is our biggest upgrade to-date. We've added new features, including live model editing, scripting in Matlab and the OpenSim application, and improved muscle models. We've enhanced some of the core existing OpenSim functionality, including our muscle models and tools for visualizing forces and other motion data. OpenSim 3.0 also includes a host of usability improvements for beginning users to advanced developers. Download the software here
Sam Hamner and OpenSim featured in NBC Learn Video
Jul 17, 2012
Sam Hamner and his running simulation work are featured in a video titled "The Biomechanics Of Usain Bolt". This is part of a series called "Science Of The Summer Olympics" that was created by NBC Learn and NSF to get middle and high schoolers more interested in science and engineering. Watch the video here.
OpenSim and NASA help launch eighth-grade science project
May 02, 2012
Three Florida middle schoolers are headed to the 2012 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Summer Bioengineering Conference in Puerto Rico. The eight graders used OpenSim to estimate the effects of microgravity on exercising astronauts in outer space, on the moon, and on Mars. Read the fully story here.
2012 NCSRR Visiting Scholars Announced
May 02, 2012
The NCSRR will host its second Visiting Scholars Program this summer. We selected four exceptional candidates from a highly competitive pool of applicants. The 2012 Scholars include Katrina Easton, Dominic Farris, John Rogers, and Bahar Sharafi. Read more about the scholars and their projects here.
Pilot Project Awarded to Jeff Reinbolt
Apr 15, 2012
Jeff Reinbolt from the University of Tennesse has been awarded an NCSRR Pilot Project Award for his project "Software for Functional Inverse Kinematics and Scaling". Read more about the pilot project program here.
New OpenSim Support Site Launched
Apr 12, 2012
We are excited to announce the launch of our new OpenSim support site. The site features:
- An integrated, searchable online portal to all OpenSim support resources
- An online, wiki-based version of the user's guide, developer's guide, and other support materials that is linked and easy to navigate
- New materials, including a central examples/tutorial page, a modeling and simulation best practices guide, teaching materials, FAQs, and a guide for how to contribute to the OpenSim project
Pilot Project Winners Travel to Stanford for OpenSim Workshop
Apr 04, 2012
In March, we held a three-day Advanced User and Develop Workshop on the Stanford University campus for NCSRR Pilot Project Award winners. A quick summary of the workshop and an album of pictures can be found here.
Apply for the Visiting Scholars 2012 Program
Dec 07, 2011
Applications for the NCSRR's Visiting Scholar program are now available.
OpenSim Launches YouTube Channel
Dec 07, 2011
Visit OpenSim's YouTube Channel for a gallery of examples and video tutorials.
Pilot Project Winners Announced
Dec 01, 2011
The NCSRR is pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural pilot project awards.
OpenSim reaches out to clinicians at AACPDM
Oct 15, 2011
The NCSRR led a hands on session entitled, "Simulation of Human Movement and Gait Pathology - An Introduction to OpenSim for the Clinician" at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. Twenty surgeons, physical therapists, and other clinicians learned how OpenSim can be used to help plan surgery for children with cerebral palsy. The OpenSim team encountered lots of enthusiasm and interest at the workshop, which was their first time introducing simulation to this clinical conference. Visit the workshop's website to download slides and handouts from the workshop.
OpenSim 2.4 Released
Oct 10, 2011
The OpenSim team at Stanford is excited to announce the release of OpenSim 2.4. This release includes improvements to functionality, usability, and visualization that will benefit both new users and experts. We encourage you to download the software and review the full list of new features.
OpenSim Video and Soccer Game Featured at The Leonardo
Oct 08, 2011
We've created a new video to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the OpenSim project. The short movie describes how and why we simulate movement and demonstrates how modeling is being applied to help plan surgery for children with cerebral palsy. The video is featured as part of an exhibit on understanding human movement at The Leonardo, a new art, science, and technology museum in Salt Lake City. The exhibit also has an interactive soccer ball kicking "game", where the real-life player tries to score a goal in OpenSim by adjusting the virtual player's muscle forces. If you are in Salt Lake City, we encourage you to visit the museum. If you can't make it to Utah, you can download the soccer game.
OpenSim team travels to Spain for neurorehabilitation workshop
Sep 22, 2011
Members of the OpenSim team traveled to La Alberca in Spain to give an OpenSim workshop at the HYPER Summer School on Neurorehabilitation. Jeff Reinbolt, from the University of Tennesse, and Jennifer Hicks, from Stanford, introduced 50 rehabilitation engineers to the OpenSim software package. Students got hands-on practice using the OpenSim pipeline and a new interface with Matlab/Simulink, which is set to be released by Reinbolt in the coming months. Check out the workshop materials here.
OpenSim at International Society of Biomechanics Congress
Jul 11, 2011
The OpenSim team ran a workshop for over 50 participants during the ISB Technical Group on Computer Simulation Symposium and organized a special OpenSim demo during the main meeting. Read more here.
Pilot Project Program Announced
May 18, 2011
Applications for the NCSRR's new Pilot Project Program are now available.
NCSRR Visiting Scholars Announced
May 06, 2011
The NCSRR is pleased to announce the inaugural Visiting Scholars, Andrew Anderson, Marjolein van der Krogt, Yao Li, Glen Lichtwark, and Justin Seipel. They will complete a research project on the Stanford campus this summer using simulation to solve a rehabilitation problem. Find out more about the scholars here.
OpenSim 2.2.1 Released
Apr 08, 2011
OpenSim 2.2.1 is now available for download. It includes enhancements to the user interface and improvements to the joint reaction analysis and static optimization. Read more here.
Researchers From Around the World Participate in OpenSim Workshop
Mar 18, 2011
In March, we held a three-day Advanced User and Develop Workshop on the Stanford University campus. A quick summary of the workshop and an album of pictures can be found here.
OpenSim Launches Webinar Series
Mar 08, 2011
The first presentation of the OpenSim Webinar Series was attended by over 140 participants from around the world. A recording of the the webinar, which described how to generate and analyze simulations of running can be found here.
OpenSim Research Featured in Men's Health
Jan 25, 2011
A recent article highlights research by Sam Hamner and colleagues on muscle contributions to proplusion and support during running.
NCSRR featured in Inside Stanford Medicine
Jan 24, 2011
The NCSRR and several members of the research team were featured in an article in the Stanford Report. Read more here.
Visiting Scholars Program Announced
Dec 10, 2010
Applications for NCSRR's new Visiting Scholar program are now available.
OpenSim 2.2 Available
Dec 02, 2010
OpenSim 2.2 was released with enhancements to the user interface and improvements to static optimization and forward dynamics. Read more here.
OpenSim at SIMPAR
Nov 16, 2010
An OpenSim tutorial was presented at the 2nd International Conference on Simulation, Modeling, and Programming for Autonomous Robots in Darmstadt, Germany
NCSRR Established
Nov 10, 2010
NIH awards $4.5 million to establish the National Center for Simulation in Rehabilitation Research.
