Quantifying Upper Limb Movement During Naturalistic Driving: A Clinically Informed Ecological Approach

Carly R. Rankin; Dwayne L. Mann; Shamsi Shekari Soleimanloo; Kalina R. Rossa; Karen A. Sullivan; Paul M. Salmon; Cassandra L. Pattinson; Simon S. Smith

doi:10.3390/s26103121

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Quantifying Upper Limb Movement During Naturalistic Driving: A Clinically Informed Ecological Approach

Journal article

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Quantifying Upper Limb Movement During Naturalistic Driving: A Clinically Informed Ecological Approach

Carly R. Rankin, Dwayne L. Mann, Shamsi Shekari Soleimanloo, Kalina R. Rossa, Karen A. Sullivan, Paul M. Salmon, Cassandra L. Pattinson and Simon S. Smith

Sensors, Vol.26(10), pp.1-12

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s26103121

PMID: 42197929

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Abstract

wearable sensors

upper limb movement

naturalistic driving

accelerometry

convex hull volume

human motion analysis

return to driving

Limb movement is an important component of control during safety-critical tasks such as driving. Restricted movement, such as limitations associated with an injury or surgery to the upper limb, may impact driving safety. However, the degree of upper limb movement required for driving is not well described outside of traditional laboratory settings. There is a need for new affordable, accessible, reliable and accurate measures of normative limb movement to guide decisions about driving capacity. This feasibility study applied a volume estimation approach to wrist-worn triaxial accelerometry data to quantify upper limb movement during naturalistic driving in a young adult population. A sample of 89 participants wore accelerometers while engaging in daily driving activity over a two-week period. Results demonstrated a distribution of movement volumes, consistent with variation in individual driving behaviour. This volume estimation approach has strong potential for further development as both a research tool and clinical assessment method, particularly in rehabilitation and return-to-driving assessments following upper limb injury or surgery.

Details

Title: Quantifying Upper Limb Movement During Naturalistic Driving: A Clinically Informed Ecological Approach
Authors: Carly R. Rankin (Corresponding Author) - The University of Queensland
Dwayne L. Mann - The University of Queensland
Shamsi Shekari Soleimanloo - The University of Queensland
Kalina R. Rossa - The University of Queensland
Karen A. Sullivan - Queensland University of Technology
Paul M. Salmon - University of the Sunshine Coast
Cassandra L. Pattinson - The University of Queensland
Simon S. Smith - The University of Queensland
Publication details: Sensors, Vol.26(10), pp.1-12
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.3390/s26103121
ISSN: 1424-8220
PMID: 42197929
Copyright note: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
Data Availability: The data presented in this study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to ethical restrictions.
Grants: Reducing Crash Risk for Young Drivers: A Randomized Control Trial to Improve Sleep, 1163614, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - NHMRC
ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, CE200100025, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, RTP, Department of Education (Australia, Canberra)
Organisation Unit: Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991233297902621
Output Type: Journal article

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