Experimental Estimation of a Second Order, Double Inverted Pendulum Parameters for the study of Human Balancing

• Published in: Conference proceedings (IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Conf.) Vol. 2019; pp. 4117 - 4120
• Main Authors: Cerda-Lugo, Angel, Gonzalez, Alejandro, Cardenas, Antonio, Piovesan, Davide
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.07.2019
• Subjects: Accidental Falls; Angular velocity; Ankle Joint - physiology; Biomechanical Phenomena; Estimation; Hip; Hip Joint - physiology; Humans; Kalman filters; Mathematical model; Modeling; Models, Biological; Postural Balance; Standing Position; Torque
• ISSN: 1557-170X; 1558-4615
• DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2019.8857611

Balance control deteriorates naturally with age and is reliant upon the control of the ankle and hip joints. To this end, the estimation of ankle and hip parameters in quiet standing can be a useful tool when analyzing compensatory actions aimed at maintaining postural stability. This work presents an experimental study of a theoretical approach built upon previous results where the physiological parameters a second-order time-varying Kelvin-Voigt model are estimated for the actuation of the ankle and hip. These estimates are obtained using a double inverted pendulum based model subject to a step-like perturbation. Making use of RGB camera data to obtain the estimates of the system's visco-elastic parameters, the approach employed is capable of estimating the time-varying values for the body's control parameters. This work presents the first results of the method demonstrating the viability of a low-cost technique for regular testing of subjects with a high fall risk.