Tutorial 3 - Scaling, Inverse Kinematics, and Inverse Dynamics

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to demonstrate how OpenSim solves an inverse kinematics problem and an inverse dynamics problem using experimental data.  To diagnose movement disorders and study human movement, biomechanists frequently ask human subjects to perform movements in a motion capture laboratory and use computational tools to analyze these movements.  A common step in analyzing a movement is to compute the joint angles and joint moments of the subject during movement. OpenSim has tools for computing these quantities.

In this tutorial, you will:

• Become familiar with OpenSim’s Scale, Inverse Kinematics and Inverse Dynamics tools
• Solve an inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics problem using experimental data
• Interpret the results of the inverse dynamics solution
• Investigate the dynamic inconsistencies that arise during inverse dynamics

Do the Tutorial

This tutorial is included with your download of the OpenSim GUI.  You can also download Tutorial 3 as a PDF.

OpenSim 2.4 has a new process for applying external loads that is more flexible, but requires an additional setup step. In some installations of OpenSim 2.4, the External Loads setup file used in Tutorial 3 may be missing. See Specifying External Loads in Tutorial 3 for more information.