Movement is fundamental to human life: it supports everyday function, contributes to health, and enables performance in sport.
Our research investigates human movement at the interface of sport science, motor control and biomechanics. We study how movement emerges from the interplay between the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system, and how humans learn, adapt, and optimize motor behavior.
We focus on the control and biomechanics of movement, the effects of practice and assistive technologies, and methods for performance diagnostics. Across these areas, our goal is to understand how movement can be assessed, supported, and improved in everyday life, sport, prevention, and rehabilitation.
Our work addresses fundamental questions in motor control, including modularity, stability, and variability in human movement. In motor learning, we investigate how modular control changes with practice and how variable practice protocols can promote learning. Building on this foundation, we study human-technology interaction in applications such as running shoes, orthoses, and exoskeletons. We also develop approaches for predicting internal biomechanical states using wearables and machine learning, and apply performance diagnostics in high-performance sport.
Methodologically, we combine experimental and computational approaches from sport science, physiology, mechanics, control theory, machine learning, and robotics. This interdisciplinary perspective allows us to identify principles underlying human movement and translate them into practical applications. Our scientific work is complemented by practical experience in various sports.
At the Institute of Sports and Sports Science, we represent the natural and engineering sciences in sport, including motor control, biomechanics, sports informatics, and engineering. Our research is embedded in the broader structures of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology through our involvement in the KIT Centers “Information · Systems · Technologies” and “Health Technologies”.
Dr. Cagla Kettner und Co-Autoren haben einen Artikel mit dem Titel „Self-paced treadmill speed differentially affects gait variability and stability in walking and running” publiziert.
Zum ArtikelDr. Cagla Kettner und Co-Autoren haben einen Artikel mit dem Titel „Differences in running kinematics and stride-to-stride variability between self-paced treadmill and overground running on two surfaces” publiziert.
Zum ArtikelDr. Michael Herzog hat einen Artikel mit dem Titel „Motor adaptation of gait to bilaterally added lower-limb mass in young adults” publiziert. Es handelt sich um eine Kooperation zwischen den Arbeitsgruppen von Prof. Deml (IFAB) und Prof. Stein (BioMotion Center, IFSS) am KIT.
Zum ArtikelDr. Bernd Stetter und Prof. Dr. Thorsten Stein haben als Gasteditoren eine Special Issue mit dem Titel „Wearable Sensors and Machine Learning in Sports Biomechanics” organisiert und neben einem Editorial den Artikel „Wearable Sensors and Machine Learning for Field-Based Biomechanical Load Assessment in Sports: A Structured Overview of Current Research” beigesteuert.
Zur Special IssueDr. Cagla Kettner hat einen Artikel mit dem Titel „Ankle exoskeleton assistance increases task-relevant variability without altering center of mass control during walking” publiziert.
Zum ArtikelDr. Cagla Kettner hat ein systematisches Review mit dem Titel “The Effects of Shoe Sole Thickness on Running Biomechanics and Economy: A Systematic Review” publiziert.
Zum ArtikelDr. Gunther Kurz hat als Teil eines internationalen Teams den Beitrag „Decreased change of direction angle, increased ACL load: angle-dependent anterior cruciate ligament loading across different change of direction sprints in male soccer players” publiziert.
Zum ArtikelWir gratulieren Hannah Steingrebe ganz herzlich zu ihrer bestandenen Promotionsprüfung!
Hannah Steingrebe hat einen Artikel mit dem Titel “Effect of hip bracing on stair walking biomechanics and pain in patients with mild-to-moderate hip osteoarthritis: an intervention study” publiziert.
Zum ArtikelDr. Cagla Kettner hat erfolgreich ein DFG Postdoc Stipendium im Walter Benjamin-Programm eingeworben – Herzlichen Glückwunsch!