Journal article
Human crawling performance and technique revealed by inertial measurement units
Journal of biomechanics, Vol.84, pp.121-128
02/14/2019
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.12.030
PMID: 30638720
Abstract
Human crawling performance and technique are of broad interest to roboticists, biomechanists, and military personnel. This study explores the variables that define crawling performance in the context of an outdoor obstacle course used by military organizations worldwide to evaluate the effects of load and personal equipment on warfighter performance. Crawling kinematics, measured from four body-worn inertial measurement units (IMUs) attached to the upper arms and thighs, are recorded for thirty-three participants. The IMU data is distilled to four metrics of crawling performance; namely, crawl speed, crawl stride time, ipsilateral limb coordination, and contralateral limb coordination. We hypothesize that higher performance (as identified by higher crawl speeds) is associated with more coordinated limbs and lower stride times. A cluster analysis groups participants into high and low performers exhibiting statistically significant differences across the four performance metrics. In particular, high performers exhibit superior limb coordination associated with a "diagonal gait" in which contralateral limbs move largely in-phase to produce faster crawl speeds and shorter crawl stride times. In contrast, low performers crawl at slower speeds with longer crawl stride times and less limb coordination. Beyond these conclusions, a major contribution of this study is a method for deploying wearable IMUs to study crawling in contextually relevant (i.e. non-laboratory) environments.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Human crawling performance and technique revealed by inertial measurement units
- Creators
- Rachel V Vitali - University of Michigan–Ann ArborStephen M Cain - University of Michigan–Ann ArborSteven P Davidson - University of Michigan–Ann ArborNoel C Perkins - University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of biomechanics, Vol.84, pp.121-128
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.12.030
- PMID
- 30638720
- ISSN
- 0021-9290
- eISSN
- 1873-2380
- Grant note
- name: US Army Contracting Command-APG, Natick Contracting Division, Natick, MA, award: W911QY-15-C-0053
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/14/2019
- Academic Unit
- Mechanical Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984195168002771
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