Zusammenfassung

By segmentation of the body, this study estimated both the natural frequency and mode shapes of the mechanics of hopping, during a stance phase, using a purposely developed three degree-of-freedom state space model of the leg. The model, which was validated via comparison of measured and estimated motion data, incorporated a novel use of the Bellman-Quasilinearization technique estimators. Vertical displacements of the centre of mass of each segment (thigh, shank, and foot) were collected during a stance phase and used as observed data for unknown leg compliance parameters. It was found that the relative joint contributions to compliance during an exhaustive hopping appear to be tuned in part, to the type of foot-surface landing (input signals).