Journal of Forensic Biomechanics

Abstract

Biomechanical Analysis of Concealed Pack Load Influences on Terrorist Gait Signatures derived from Grobner Basis Theory

Sean S Kohles, Anum Barki, Kimberly D. Kendricks and Ronald F. Tuttle

This project examines kinematic gait parameters as forensic predictors of the influence associated with individuals carrying concealed weighted packs up to 20% of their body weight. An initial inverse dynamics approach combined with computational algebra provided lower limb joint angles during the stance phase of gait as measured from 12 human subjects during normal walking. The following paper describes the additional biomechanical analysis of the joint angle data to produce kinetic and kinematic parameters further characterizing human motion. Results include the rotational velocities and accelerations of the hip, knee, and ankle as well as inertial moments and kinetic energies produced at these joints. The reported findings indicate a non-statistically significant influence of concealed pack load, body mass index, and gender on joint kinetics (p>0.05). Ratios of loaded to unloaded kinematics, however, identified some statistical influence on gait (p<0.05). On-going studies are examining an additional subject cohort with greater pack loads in an effort to identify alterations in gait signatures as a counter-terrorism approach.