A new computer simulation method, using a neuro-musculo-skeletal model, is used to clarify the process of acquisition of erect bipedal walking during human ontogeny. Walking was autonomously generated as a dynamic interaction called ‘mutual entrainment’ between the neural oscillation and the pendular movement of differently proportioned bodies. Walking patterns of humans with 8 different sets of alternative body proportions, varying from those of 8-month-old children to those of 22 years old adults, were simulated. The development of bipedal walking is characterized as the change from a forced oscillation controlled by the nervous system to the natural oscillation of pendular motion, determined by body proportions. Body proportions are the fundamental factor in the development of bipedal walking.
Numerical analyses of the head and neck responses during side impact are presented in this paper. A mathematical human model for side impact simulation was developed based on the previous studies of other researchers. The effects of muscular activities during severe side impact were analyzed using this model. This study shows that the effect of muscular activities is significant especially if the occupant is prepared to resist the impact. This result suggests that the modeling of muscles is important for the simulation of real accident situations.
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