The simulation of aerial movement—IV. A computer simulation model

A computer simulation model of human airborne movement is described. The body is modelled as 11 rigid linked segments with 17 degrees of freedom which are chosen with a view to modelling twisting somersaults. The accuracy of the model is evaluated by comparing the simulation values of the angles describing somersault, tilt and twist with the corresponding values obtained from film data of nine twisting somersaults. The maximum deviations between simulation and film are found to be 0.04 revolutions for somersault, seven degrees for tilt and 0.12 revolutions for twist. It is shown that anthropometric measurement errors, from which segmental inertia parameters are calculated, have a small effect on a simulation, whereas film digitization errors can account for a substantial part of the deviation between simulation and film values.