Networking and Computing in Biomechanical Research: Challenges and Directions

Biomechanics is a scientific discipline that studies the forces acting on a body and the effects they produce. In this paper, we bring together biomechanists and networking researchers to shed light into how research efforts in biomechanics, primarily related to the study of the human body, can be facilitated through networking and computing technologies, such as edge and cloud computing, Software Defined Networking, and Information-Centric Networking. We first present challenges related to networking and computing that biomechanists face today and we then describe how networking and computing technologies can address them. Finally, we identify directions for future networking research with a focus on biomechanics to facilitate and encourage interdisciplinary collaborations between biomechanists and networking researchers.