Colloquia

Summary

This study presents the design and validation of a wrench observer for estimating external disturbances acting on a standing human body using data from wearable sensors. The observer is based on biomechanical models and sensor measurements, both of which are sources of inaccuracy. The primary goal of this research is to analyze how such inaccuracies affect the estimated disturbance wrench to assess the oberver's performance. 

The observer was first evaluated in a simulation environment using a simplified human body model. This allowed for controlled anlaysis of the system's sensitivity to various parameters. Following this, an experimental validation was performed to examine the oberver's performance in more realistic scenario's. 

The proposed mathematical framework for the wrench observer demonstrated a working concept. Several parmeters were identified which have a high senstivity on the accuracy of the disturbance estimation. In the experimental validation, the observer showed promising results in estimating linear disturbances. However, the estimation of angular disturbances remains a challenge for furter improvment. 

Overall, this research lays a foundation for the development of a disturbance wrench observer. However, further refinement of the implementation and calibration of the wearable sensors is necessary. Additionally, future work should focus on implementing methods that improve the estimation of person-specific body parameters, which are crucial for accurately defining the underlying biomechanical models.