Honors Theses
Advisor
Andrew P. Murray, Ph.D. and David H. Myszka, Ph.D.
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Publication Date
11-2017
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Traditional ankle-foot prostheses often replicate the physiological change in shape of the foot during gait via compliant mechanisms. In comparison, rigid-body feet tend to be simplistic and largely incapable of accurately representing the geometry of the human foot. Multi-segment rigid-body devices offer certain advantages over compliant mechanisms which may be desirable in the design of ankle-foot devices, including the ability to withstand greater loading, the ability to achieve more drastic shape-change, and the ability to be synthesized from their kinematics, allowing for realistic functionality without prior accounting of the complex internal kinetics of the foot. This work focuses on applying methodology of shape-changing kinematic synthesis to design and prototype a multi-segment rigid-body foot device capable of matching the dynamic change in shape of a human foot in gait. Included are discussions of an actuation strategy, mechanical design considerations, limitations, and potential prosthetic design implications of such a foot.
Permission Statement
This item is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and may only be used for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly purposes
Keywords
Undergraduate research
Disciplines
Mechanical Engineering
eCommons Citation
Rolfe, Tanner N., "Design and Prototyping of a Shape-changing Rigid-body Human Foot in Gait" (2017). Honors Theses. 148.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses/148
