Alaska/dynamicus – human movements in interplay with the environment

Abstract Dynamicus is a biomechanical human model that models the human body as a multibody system (MBS), i.e., as a set of rigid bodies coupled by joints. It is implemented basing on the general purpose MBS tool alaska. With Dynamicus, movements of a subject can be analyzed and new movements can be predicted. As the objects of the environment significantly influence the movement of humans, Dynamicus particularly supports the modeling of the interactions between humans and their environment. Based on a consistent overall model that includes both the human model and a model of the environment, interactions between the subject and the environment can be considered in the simulation. The comprehensive modeling and simulation methods available in Dynamicus allow the implementation of a consistent technology, from the simultaneous acquisition of force and motion data to the analysis and assessment of human motions. Based on the measured data, the movement can be reconstructed by the model. Alternatively, new movements for altered subjects or changed environments can be predicted. Dynamicus provides a comprehensive set of simulation results. These are used to create a process scheme that structures the movement into individual activities. Different application-specific assessment procedures can be implemented taking into account the process scheme and the time series of the results.