Motion envelopes: unfolding longitudinal rotation data from walking stick-figures

This work presents Motion Envelopes (ME), a simple method to estimate the missing longitudinal rotations of minimal stick figures, which is based on the spatial-temporal surface traced by line segments that connect contiguous pairs of joints. We validate ME by analyzing the gait patterns of 6 healthy subjects, comprising a total of 18 gait cycles. A strong correlation between experimental and estimated data was obtained for lower limbs and upper arms, indicating that ME can predict their longitudinal orientation in normal gait, hence, ME can be used to complement the kinematic information of stick figures whenever it is incomplete.

Automated summary

This study introduces a simple method called Motion Envelopes (ME) to estimate missing longitudinal rotations of minimal stick figures, validated through analysis of gait patterns of 6 healthy subjects. The results show a strong correlation between experimental and estimated data for lower limbs and upper arms, indicating the potential of ME to complement kinematic information of stick figures when incomplete.