Abstract
In this paper we show that staggered joint interpolation [7] with maximally smooth joint motion can account for both the hand paths and tangential velocity profiles observed in human multi-joint arm movements. Arm trajectories were recorded while subjects performed point-to-point movements in a vertical plane. The shape of the tangential velocity profile of the hand was found to be symmetrical and bell-shaped. Although this finding is predicted by the maximum-smoothness theory [6], which assumes that hand motion is maximally smooth, the theory cannot account for the curved hand paths which were often observed. The present model assumes that joint motion, rather than the motion of the hand, is maximally smooth. The results of this work suggest that multi-joint arm movements may be planned at the joint level.
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© 1990 Springer-Verlag
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Randall Flanagan, J., Ostry, D.J. (1990). Trajectories of human multi-joint arm movements: Evidence of joint level planning. In: Hayward, V., Khatib, O. (eds) Experimental Robotics I. Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences, vol 139. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0042544
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0042544
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