The need to know the precise location of individuals has become ubiquitous. Systems currently used for tracking humans and animals depend on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS eg GPS, Galileo) developed for aircraft, cars and boats, and do not provide reliable position information in conditions where GNSS is inaccurate or unavailable. For our research into locomotion of free-ranging animals, we developed a dynamically-augmented sensor system of higher integrity than GNSS alone. Currently, where GNSS is inaccurate or unavailable, most users have no alternative electronic means of navigation. Our system delivers this functionality, with the added benefits of low cost, low power requirements and small size. We propose to transform our research system into a prototype product ready for a commercial partner to take to market. It will fill the gap in the market between highly accurate but heavy and expensive navigation systems, and consumer level systems that give poor accuracy, especially in challenging GNSS conditions. Our system combines information about speed and heading during legged locomotion from accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers and uses it to independently calculate track (position/time) to improve accuracy and continuity. Where GNSS is available, our system assesses the quality of GNSS fixes and uses only reliable information to augment the localisation solution. The performance of the research system and novelty of the approach have been demonstrated through five publications in Nature. The system can be interfaced with other technologies (eg physiological or environmental monitoring systems) and can communicate real-time position data locally or via wireless communications technology to a central control position or server. Our dynamically augmented navigation system DYANS will have application for personal safety, military and sport, in industrial sites for personnel tracking, wildlife research and pet tracking.

The fin-to-limb transition was a major milestone in the history of life that shaped the morphology and remarkable biodiversity of land vertebrates. A central question in vertebrate evolution is how the various anatomical parts of limbs evolved semi-autonomously (modularity) while still growing and adapting in coordination (integration). The main goal of this project is to unravel (i) the evolutionary changes in modularity of the musculoskeletal system that occurred during the evolution from fins to limbs and (ii) how these newly acquired modular organizations facilitated the evolution of different morphologies for the forelimb and hindlimb. To this end, we will evaluate the modularity of limbs and the strength of topological integration among modules by using an innovative approach–anatomical network analysis–¬¬based on the topological relations that anatomical parts establish among them; these anatomical relations are embodied in network models and quantified globally using sophisticated algorithms from Graph Theory. We propose a multidisciplinary combination, for the first time, of (i) new data on fin/limb muscle anatomy in extant species, (ii) reconstruction of muscle attachments in extinct forms, and (iii) the use of innovative tools such as Anatomical Network Analysis to identify morphological modules and quantify their integration within a phylogenetic context. The results of this unique and transformative project have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of limb evolution during the fin-limb transition. The training in gross anatomy, imaging techniques, and reconstruction of muscles in fossils by the leading researchers involved in this project will foster the development of the candidate Fellow as an independent and innovative frontline researcher in theoretical, evolutionary, and comparative biology in the EU.

I seek to unify evolutionary and biomechanical research by achieving a “functional synthesis” in evolution that causally links phenotypes (anatomy) to actual performance. Did early, bipedal dinosaurs evolve advantages in their locomotor performance over other Late Triassic archosaurs (“ruling reptiles”)? This “locomotor superiority” hypothesis was first proposed to explain what made dinosaurs distinct from other Triassic taxa, perhaps aiding their survival into the Jurassic. However, the hypothesis remains untested or unfairly dismissed. I will test this question for the first time, but first I need to develop the best tools to do so. Extant archosaurs (crocodiles and birds) allow us to experimentally measure key factors (3D skeletal motions and limb forces; muscle activations) optimizing performance in walking, running, jumping, standing up, and turning. We will then use biomechanical simulations to estimate performance determinants we cannot measure; e.g. muscle forces/lengths. This will refine our simulations by testing major assumptions and validate them for studying extinct animals, overcoming the obstacle that has long limited researchers to qualitative, subjective morphological inferences of performance. Next, we will use our simulation tools to predict how ten Late Triassic archosaurs may have moved, and to compare how their performance in the five behaviours related to locomotor traits, testing if the results fit expected patterns for “locomotor superiority.” My proposal pushes the frontiers of experimental and computational analysis of movement by combining the best measurements of performance with the best digital tools, to predict how form and function are coordinated to optimize performance. Our rigorous, integrative analyses will revolutionize evolutionary biomechanics, enabling new inquiries into how behaviour relates to underlying traits or even palaeoecology, environments, biogeography, biotic diversity, disparity or other metrics.