Identification of the inertia matrix of the upper limb
Résumé
Accurate results from biomechanical investigations are dependent of the body segment inertial parameters (BSIP) estimations. Actually, no routine technique provides personified BSIP for each subject studied. As a result, BSIP are commonly estimated using regression equations from literature [1]. Roboticians, who face similar problem with robots, use identification methods. Identification consists in solving a redundant system (i.e. the robot motion and its reactions on a bedplate are not dependent of the internal joint forces [2]) by numerical computations. This paper presents an application of the identification method for estimating the inertia matrix of the whole upper limb (upper arm, forearm, hand) modelled as a single rigid segment. Our results are compared with classical BSIP.