Bj. Mcfadyen et al., SIMULATED CONTROL OF UNILATERAL, ANTICIPATORY LOCOMOTOR ADJUSTMENTS DURING OBSTRUCTED GAIT, Biological cybernetics, 72(2), 1994, pp. 151-160
Anticipatory adjustments of our locomotor patterns are necessary in or
der to negotiate our uneven daily environments. Recent work (McFadyen
and Winter 1991) has shown the re-organization of lower limb mechanics
for obstacle avoidance during level walking. The present work describ
es a model which sets the ground work for predicting how such re-organ
ized motor patterns might be generated from stereotypic unobstructed p
atterns. Pattern-generating algorithms use an estimation of future con
tacts with obstacles to create weighting functions that modify joint a
ngle trajectories towards new patterns capable of clearing the obstacl
e. Feedforward/feedback control is then used to generate the necessary
joint torques. The results show that model parameters can be found to
generate not only kinematic but also energetic patterns for obstacle
clearance that mimic experimental results. The validity of the model w
ith respect to human locomotor control is discussed.