Multifactorial movement analysis in weightlessness: a ground-based feasibility study

This paper discusses the activities conducted within the framework of the design and implementation of the Microgravity Investigation and Crew Reactions in 0-Gravity (MICR0-G) facility for quantitative multifactorial human motion analysis on board the International Space Station. In particular, we report the preliminary feasibility evaluation of the combined use of existing space hardware for reaction dynamic measurements (EDLS) and video-based systems for kinematics analysis. The experiments were performed at the Man-Vehicle Laboratory (MVL) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, with the main goal of validating the EDLS system as a conventional ground reaction measurement device. The results demonstrate the suitability of the dynamic measurement system as a space-qualified force platform and form a set of methodological requirements for design and combined use of the two systems. Considerations on the reliability of inverse dynamics models, when applied to microgravity kinematics data, confirm the necessity to rely on multifactorial joint systems for movement and posture investigation in weightlessness.