The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Develpment (CAREER) award is to obtain a sufficiently accurate, and broadly applicable, predictive theory of how people walk, run, and stabilize their movements. It is already possible to predict some aspects of human walking and running, by computing motions that minimize energy consumption. However, it is not known if such minimization can simultaneously predict the results of many different experiments, or the differences between different subjects. The PI will use large-scale inverse optimization to try to deduce a single objective function, perhaps loosely correlated with energy use, which, when minimized in the context of a computer model of the human-body, predicts the outcomes of many different experiments. The proposed project has four inter-related pieces: (1) Consolidation of locomotion data under a variety of situations: different speeds, inclines, body changes like addition of masses, etc; (2) Inverse optimization to infer the objective function which when minimized, simultaneously explains a substantial fraction (but not all) of the collected data; (3) Forward optimization to predict behavior in locomotor situations not used in the inverse optimization; and (4) Predict responses to perturbations using optimality and compare with perturbation experiments.
An accurate and broadly applicable theory of human locomotion will, for instance, enable the systematic model-based design of prosthetic and orthotic devices, and inform the diagnosis and treatment of movement pathologies, including possibly guiding surgical interventions. The project will integrate the research into a number of educational activities, aimed at different student groups, from K-12 to graduate students. The PI will work with OSU's Women in Engineering program to create an educational module for female high school students, targeted at increasing their likelihood of pursuing further education in the STEM disciplines. These educational modules will emphasize the interplay between mathematical theories, computer simulations, and experiments in science and engineering, and in improving the quality of human life.
