Coordination Analysis And Parametric Description Of Human Movements

Coordination analysis of human movements is of great significance in studies of human behavior mechanism and relationship with the brain. It can be widely used in clinical diagnoses, rehabilitation engineering, ergonomics, gymnastic science, bionic system control and manufacturing. However, the current researches in human coordination are limited to topological analysis and fixed joint velocity ratios, and coordination of human movements has not been described in a quantitative and very effective way. To solve this problem, the research work has been done in this dissertation includes the following aspects:1. Fitts' Law was extended to two-dimensional polar coordinate system, and based on this, a method on human movement quality evaluation was proposed. Indices of gait symmetry, indices of difficulty and indices of performance for human upper limbs were defined and combined with other indices to form a set of systematic indices of movement quality evaluation. It provided scientific and objective bases for description and evaluation of human movement function and coordination. 2. A function description method of synergies among the human joints was proposed by using trigonometric and exponential functions. The function parameter matrices were used to quantify the coordination and synergies in human movements, which is useful for the analysis of human movement control mechanism. 3. Based on the evaluation indices and the function description method, the pointing movement quality of human upper limb was evaluated and the joints angles were fitted. The invariance of upper limb terminal was shown in the result and the affecting factors were discussed. Function synergy among the upper limb joints angles was defined by using the fitting parameter matrix. 4. Based on the indices of gait symmetry and the function description method, the symmetry of normal gaits in different conditions was analyzed and the joints angles were fitted. The gait features in different terrains or different gait patternswere analyzed and compared, and the affecting factors discussed. Function synergy among the lower limb joints angles was defined by using the fitting parameter matrix. 5. Indices of gait symmetry were used to analyze and compare the gait features and symmetry of special human gaits, such as spanning hurdle gait and stiff knee gait. The features and the affecting factors of asymmetry gait were discussed and the motion compensation and motion equivalence were indicated in the results and discussions. The results of the investigation not only provided an effective and quantitative description of the human movement coordination, but also provided the method and clue for the human movement mechanism analysis. The research work is supported by NSFC (No.59905015) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (No.96-920-20-14).