Research interests Matt's research interests involve applying mechanical engineering concepts to situations that involve physical interactions between humans and products, devices and surfaces. This can be considered as five main themes: Behaviour of human skin and tissue under loading Work on this area was initially focused on fingerpad-object interactions but has since expanded to cover the biotribology of different skin and human tissues. Further PhD studies have produced numerous papers on the fundamental understanding of the effects of surface roughness, moisture, topical treatments and loading on skin tribology, as well as a range of medical, sports and consumer applications. Projects combining Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and tissue loading experiments have delivered increased understanding through imaging the skin at the surface and sub-surface to determine deformation behaviour and morphological changes to underlying structures. Work continues in an EPSRC Programme Grant "Friction: The Tribology Enigma" and an EPSRC Centre-to-centre Grant "TrEnT: Tribology as an enabling technology", linking up with world class roboticists. Development of synthetic test-beds for human interactions Many of the research projects have led to the development of biofidelic systems that simulate aspects of physical human interaction and can be used in place of human participant testing. These include synthetic test-beds for finger-pad grip, catheter interactions, friction experienced at the foot-sock interface and through the use of incontinence products, vibration transmission in fingers and comfort assessment of ear plugs. These have potential to assess products more effectively or can be used for robotics applications. Hand-object interactions Matt's research on human-object interactions is often concerned with the interface between the hand and a product or device. Work has included assessment of medical glove performance, vibrations transmitted to hands and is now being applied to the field of robotics. Shoe-Surface interactions This research theme was originally concerned with sports footwear including projects sponsored by the International Tennis Federation but has since diversified to include pedestrian slips, leading to collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive and safety shoe manufacturers. Work so far has included modelling of shoe-surface interactions; the development of biomechanically informed shoe-traction measurement devices; and an improved understanding of the tribological mechanisms at play in a variety of human-floor interactions. Design methodologies for products that include human interactions This research area is driven by real problems experienced by industry and organisations – often in the sectors of consumer goods, sports products, cosmetics and healthcare. Solving these problems aids the improvement of products and, ultimately, enhances the health and/or experience of consumers.