Title: A fast and robust whole-body control algorithm for running

Authors: Xianlian Zhou, Andrzej Przekwas

Addresses: CFD Research Corporation, Huntsville, AL, 35805, USA. ' CFD Research Corporation, Huntsville, AL, 35805, USA

Abstract: Dynamic simulation of human motion in real-time is a challenging problem due to the high mobility of human body and the redundancy of body control. This paper presents a robust whole-body control algorithm for simulating human running in real-time. The control algorithm tracks a reference motion through a proportional derivative (PD) feedback control rule for computing desired joint accelerations and an efficient and novel procedure for predicting ground reaction force (GRF) and joint actuation torques, which are subsequently applied to a forward dynamics simulation. The proposed control algorithm is firstly demonstrated to track a measured running motion and the predicted GRF is shown in good agreement with the experimental data. Further, the capability to handle extra loads is demonstrated with load carriage studies. In summary, the present approach offers a fast and robust way to synthesise physically valid dynamic motions from captured motion samples without the need of measured GRF.

Keywords: whole-body models; modelling; human running; real-time control; motion synthesis; load carriage; dynamic simulation; human motion; whole-body control; PD feedback control; joint accelerations; ground reaction force; GRF; joint actuation torques; motion capture.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFMS.2011.041641

International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation, 2011 Vol.2 No.1/2, pp.127 - 148

Received: 07 Jan 2011
Accepted: 02 May 2011
Published online: 22 Oct 2014 *

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