An EKF-based approach for estimating leg stiffness during walking

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2013:2013:7226-8. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2013.6611225.

Abstract

The spring-like behavior is an inherent condition for human walking and running. Since leg stiffness k(leg) is a parameter that cannot be directly measured, many techniques has been proposed in order to estimate it, most of them using force data. This paper intends to address this problem using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) based on the Spring-Loaded Inverted Pendulum (SLIP) model. The formulation of the filter only uses as measurement information the Center of Mass (CoM) position and velocity, no a priori information about the stiffness value is known. From simulation results, it is shown that the EKF-based approach can generate a reliable stiffness estimation for walking.

MeSH terms

  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Biomedical Engineering / methods*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Equipment Design
  • Gait / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Leg
  • Models, Biological
  • Monitoring, Ambulatory / instrumentation*
  • Monitoring, Ambulatory / methods
  • Motion
  • Robotics
  • Running
  • Software
  • Walking / physiology*