Variation of Whole-Body Angular and Linear Momentum During Human Locomotion

Bipedal walking is a typical activity of daily living, but the overarching control strategy used by the central nervous system (CNS) to make this motion efficient, or even possible, remains unknown. Researchers in robotics have developed control strategies for bipedal gait through the regulation of central (i.e., about the mass center) angular momentum resolved along three orthogonal directions during the walking cycle. Although recent research has focused on conservation of whole-body central angular momentum as a possible control law for walking [1–3], there is little data to support this theory for other motions such as running or marching. Even less data exist for how whole-body linear momentum varies during human locomotion.