Estimation of ground reaction force and zero moment point on a powered ankle-foot prosthesis

Commercially available ankle-foot prostheses are passive when in contact with the ground surface, and thus, their mechanical properties remain fixed across different terrains and walking speeds. The passive nature of these prostheses causes many problems for lower extremity amputees, such as a lack of adequate balance control during standing and walking. The ground reaction force (GRF) and the zero moment point (ZMP) are known to be basic parameters in bipedal balance control. This thesis focuses on the estimation of these parameters using two prostheses, a powered ankle-foot prototype and an instrumented, mechanically-passive prosthesis worn by a transtibial amputee. The main goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of estimating the GRF and ZMP primarily using sensory information from a force/torque transducer positioned proximal to the ankle joint. The location of this sensor is ideal because it allows the use of a compliant artificial foot to be in contact with the ground, in contrast to rigid foot structures employed by walking robots. Both, the active and passive, instrumented prostheses were monitored with a wearable computing system designed to serve as a portable control unit for the active prototype and as an ambulatory gait analysis tool.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Martinez Villalpando, Ernesto Carlos

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hugh Herr.

• Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/37271
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/37271

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37271