MORE | Spring 2021

Factors that Influence Ankle Stiffness During the Stance Phase of Walking

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Understanding human joint mechanical impedance — a measurement reflecting stiffness, damping, and inertia — is a potentially useful metric for diagnostic purposes that can also aid in the design of new rehabilitative robotics. This research focuses on finding what factors related to human gait have an influence on the mechanical impedance of the human ankle joint. A robotic platform was used to quantify impedance properties of the human ankle from a number of subjects. From these measurements, a task-independent model will be created that is able to predict the ankle joint impedance at various points in the stance phase of walking.

Student researcher

Joshua B. Russell

Robotics and autonomous systems

Hometown: Mendenhall, Mississippi, United States

Graduation date: Spring 2021