Fast Simulation of Arm Dynamics for Real Time, User in the Loop Control Application

Dr. Ed Chadwick of Keele University describes their work to restore functional arm movements in people with spinal cord injury or other neuromuscular problems.

One approach is to use coordinated, electrical stimulation of muscles, which requires advanced command and control algorithms to provide natural control of movement. To facilitate development of such systems, where the user is an integral part of the control loop, they are developing tools for fast simulation of the musculoskeletal system to allow user-in-the-loop testing of potential solutions.

In this webinar, Dr. Chadwick describes the methods used to create the model and perform simulations in real-time, including how they integrate OpenSim into their workflow. He also discusses some of the limitations of the current model, and outlines some of the potential applications, including control of a virtual arm using a brain-computer interface.

A PDF of the slides is available at https://simtk.org/docman/view.php/322.... You can also read more about this research in "Real-Time Simulation of Three-Dimensional Shoulder Girdle and Arm Dynamics" (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_a...).