Study of mass-inertial characteristics of female human body by walking

In order to construct and control walking robots similar to humans, i.e., in anthropomorphic robotics, as well as the corresponding exoskeletons, it is necessary to know the physical human properties such as the corresponding geometry, mass, and inertial characteristics of the segments of the human body. In addition, the study of human locomotion is on the basis of the development and design of all possible devices aimed to help people, after some incident, say in traumatology, orthopedics, orthotics and prosthetics design. For that aim one often uses computer simulation and computer design approach. In the present work, we present a 16 segmental biomechanical geometrical model of the body of the averaged Bulgarian women and study the changes in vertical position in its mass center, as well as the inertial parameters of the body during walking. We do that using proper 3D CAD software. We have considered, in accordance with the literature, 8 distinct phases of the gait cycle. The study could be beneficial for disabled people who need orthopedic and prosthetic devices for rehabilitation. The model and the mass-inertial characteristics obtained may be used in studies of injuries, ergonomics, and sports. Furthermore, the results of this paper will be in the basis of further study of the gait dynamics of the average Bulgarian female. Despite the current computer realization and the specific data obtained are for the average Bulgarian women, the presented approach can be easily applied to a specific individual provided a set of relatively easily measurable anthropometric data for that individual are known.