BILL SELLERS
William Irvin Sellers & Todd C. Pataky & Paolo Caravaggi & Robin Huw Crompton (online published version) Evolutionary Robotic Approaches in Primate Gait Analysis. International Journal of Primatology DOI 10.1007/s10764-010-9396-4
This paper shows how important the Achilles tendon is for human running by creating computer simulations with and without the tendon. With the tendon running is both faster and more efficient! Interestingly chimpanzees and gorillas do not have this tendon (well they do, but it is too small to store any energy) and it is usually described as missing in orang-utans too. Strangely gibbons have a large Achilles tendon - perhaps to help them jump.
There are a set of models to go with this new paper. These work with GaitSym although rounding issues between different version of gcc mean that some of them fall over with the current version of GaitSym. However if you are developing running human models then these may be good starting points. You can also download a video of the simulation:
- ERAIPGA_Models.zip (2.1 MB)
- 640x360_non_tracked.mov (291 KB)
You can see the effect on running speed in this video. There are 4 simulants. The one closest to the camera (and the winner) is the normal human. In 2nd place is the simulant with no elasticity except in the Achilles tendon. In 3rd place is the simulant with an inelastic Achilles tendon but elasticity in all the other lower limb muscles. In last place is the non elastic model.
