Design student Timothy Kai Stapleton received a certificate of Honorable Mention for the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and received the Provost’s Undergraduate Fellowship Award (PUF) for his project titled “Biomotion Visibility Aids: 3D Eye Tracking Analysis of Bicyclist Clothing at Night.”

The purpose of Stapleton’s research was to investigate the effectiveness of bio-motion visibility aids with other configurations for nighttime bicyclists via 3D eye-tracking technology through a blind between-subjects experiment. Biological motion, or biomotion, is the perceptual phenomenon in which highlighting the major joints of the body significantly increases recognition of the human form. By taking advantage of biomotion, garments can increase visibility of bicyclists. This research has the potential to benefit both drivers and nighttime bicyclists through a better understanding of how biomotion can increase visibility, and also to further inform clothing designers on how to incorporate bio-motion to increase bicyclist visibility and safety.

Timothy Kai Stapleton is a graduating senior majoring in Behavioral Design, an individual major focusing on the overlap between design, computer science, and psychology. He aims to improve people’s lives by incorporating cognitive science and psychology principles in the design process, and moreover, to do so ethically. Tim is currently the lead designer at Foodfully, a startup in Davis that focuses on reducing food waste in the home. He plans to apply to grad school in the fall for Design and Human-Computer Interaction programs.