Neuromuscular Modeling of Human Ankle for Rehabilitation and Assistance

This project investigates the underlying mechanisms governing the modulation of ankle impedance during postural balance and walking. An Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares Optimization is used to develop a model that relates ankle Center of Pressure, Weight Loading and Muscle Activation to Ankle stiffness. This research would highly impact the development of prosthetics and exoskeletons by eliminating the need for higher level task recognition, which is a major challenge limiting the functionality of lower extremity robots.

The experimental protocols were designed such that the platform analyzes different conditions of the ankle during postural balance and locomotion and applies perturbations when the conditions are met. The system is developed using Simulink Real Time OS implemented on an Advantech PCM 3356 while the visual feedback was routed through an arduino and a Python based GUI.