Projects
CARDyAL: Co-Operative Aerodynamics and Radio-based DYnamic Animal Localisation
People: Alan Wilson, Jim Usherwood, Kyle Roskilly, Steve Amos
Measuring the detailed movement and relative location of individual animals within groups has, up to now, not been possible in most situations. The CARDyAL project has been designed to open a new field of research in this area, and in so doing to develop tools and methods that can be used in many other applications.
Don't break a leg!
People: Monica Daley
Researchers discover the control priorities of birds negotiating single-step obstacles and how the priorities of body stability, energy saving and leg safety vary with different body sizes and terrain
Running Jumping Flying
People: Alan Wilson
The Science of Animal Locomotion: how do animals run, jump and fly? Discover the science behind the movement and learn about the innovations that help us study them in the laboratory and in the wild.
Dynamics and Energetics of Hunting in the Cheetah
People: Alan Wilson, Tatjana Hubel, Kyle Roskilly
It is well known that cheetahs are the world’s fastest sprinters, but until this study the top speed of wild cheetahs had never been measured.
BBC Horizon Cats
People: Alan Wilson, John Hutchinson, Andrew Cuff
Specialising in locomotion and hunting behaviour of wild animals in southern Africa, our researchers know more about the lifestyle of many wild cats than the humble domestic moggy. They decided to find out more about how Britain's cats spend their days...
Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner
People: John Hutchinson
King of the Cretaceous, Tyrannosaurus rex stood on two powerful hind limbs and terrorized potential prey with its elephantine size and lethal jaws. The dinosaur was big and bad. But was it fast?
Are fast moving elephants really running?
People: John Hutchinson
New research solves a long standing mystery about elephant speeds by clocking the animals at 15 miles per hour. That's faster than reliable observations of 10 mph top speeds but slower than speculations of 25 mph. But do fast-moving elephants really "run"?
Dinosaur locomotion: beyond the bones
People: John Hutchinson
In films, dinosaur locomotion is a result of clever software and the artistic interpretation of special effects departments. Now scientists are using improved software tools that have a firm grounding in physical principles, rather than artistic intuition, to test their own hypotheses on how dinosaurs walked the Earth.
Modern riding style improves horse racing times
People: Alan Wilson, Thilo Pfau
SML have solved a century old puzzle — how jockeys can help horses run faster.
Biomechanical research reveals elephants move like 4x4 vehicles
People: John Hutchinson
SML have discovered that elephant limbs function quite unlike those of other animals.