Estimating the centre of gravity of the body on the basis of the centre of pressure in standing posture

Abstract

This study proposes to estimate the horizontal positions of the body's centre of gravity (CoG) in a standing posture, on the basis of the horizontal positions of the centre of pressure (CoP). The latter were measured with a force plate, and using a low-pass filter defined by a mathematical relationship of the relative magnitude of the CoG with respect to the magnitude of the CoP, as a function of the frequency oscillations (Brenière, 1996, Journal of Motor Behaviour 28, 291-298). This relationship was computed from the angular momentum equation applied to the whole body with respect to the CoG using the inverse dynamics approach and force plate recordings, and considering the CoP and CoG oscillations as simple periodic functions. Five subjects were asked to perform voluntary oscillations along medio-lateral and antero-posterior axes, keeping their bodies straight, and without moving their feet. The CoG accelerations measured by the force plate were compared with the CoG accelerations derived from the estimated CoG positions. The average root-mean-square difference between these accelerations was very small, confirming the accuracy of this method. This simplified way to calculate the CoG positions, rarely measured in standing, allows a comparative assessment of motion performance. This method could also be applied to other kinds of movement such as walking.