Physically-based simulation of the spine in dog walking

Biomechanics has strong implications in both medicine and robotics as it is concerned with the study of biological systems from an engineering point of view. In this work we propose a physics-based system for accurate simulation of dogpsilas spine at walking gait. The spinal column has been modeled as a set of rigid bodies, representing the vertebrae, connected by joints. Real-time dynamic simulation has been carried out from motion captured data collected from skin markers. A feedback controller has been developed for error minimization. The main contribution of the paper is the development of a tool for analyzing the forces acting on the spine. We report experiments performed with a boxer dog walking on a treadmill. Potential applications of this study involve bio-inspired robotics and computer graphics, as well as diagnostic applications for live animals.