This event is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Human bipedal walking can be both stable and energetically efficient in complex environments. Previous research has primarily focused on the role of the lower limbs, and little is known about how the trunk contributes towards gait stability and energetic efficiency. I will discuss how I addressed this gap through four novel studies that investigated the role of trunk in human gait. These studies encompass walking at very slow speeds, walking outdoors in winter and summer weather conditions, restricting stability strategies, and the energetic consequences of trunk lean. Each of these studies improve scientific understanding of how the trunk is controlled in order to maintain stability and energetic efficiency during walking, leading to more informed robot algorithms or training regimes for gait assistance and recovery.

Aaron Best is a PhD student at Ingenuity Labs working in the Biomechanics x Robotics Laboratory under Dr. Amy Wu. His research is on the fundamental strategy that humans use to avoid falling while walking. Aaron did his BASc in applied science at Queen's University and has recently defended his PhD thesis.