Metadata

Collecting and Using Metadata

Metadata in biomechanics typically refers to supplementary data about our subjects or experiments (i.e. subject age, pitching speed, skill level, etc.). Properly formatted metadata can be used to refine Inspect3D queries using the CMZ Builder. Metadata can come from a variety of sources, including collection systems or subject demographic info. Inspect3D expects metadata to come in .csv format and has a framework that can accept different types of data.

Metadata File Creation

Let's say you have three subjects worth of data where each subject walks at four different speeds and has a different weight.

Start by separating the subject data into discrete folders all contained within a parent folder

-Parent -Subject01 -Subject02 -Subject03 Ensure that each subject folder contains the relevant motion trials or dynamic files as well as a static or calibration file.

In this example let us say we want to include metadata on the subject's walking speed and weight. To create a csv file for this metadata, start by creating a row of headers. The minimum requirements for a metadata file include the static file name and dynamic file name. After that, we can add the other parameters we are interested in.

In the example below, we can see that there are four headers (static_model, dynamic_file, walking_speed and subject_mass).

If you haven't read the technical information page associated with building CMZs and metadata files, the link is here. This page contains information about some of the default settings and shortcuts that can be used to streamline this process. When you are satisfied with the metadata input, click "Apply".

The CMZs may take a few minutes to build, check the status bar in the bottom left corner of the screen for build status. When the build is complete, you can load the workspaces into Inspect3D by browsing for your parent folder in the Load Library dialog.