Stability Analysis of a Pedestrian’s Walking Motion Based on the Inverted Pendulum Model

Abstract

In this paper we use an inverted pendulum with harmonic vibrations of the pivot point to model the walking motion of a pedestrian. The stability analysis of the inverted pendulum is carried out to understand dynamics of a pedestrian. Our theoretical research shows that not only the ratio between the lateral and vertical amplitudes of the pivot point, but also the ratio between the lateral and vertical frequencies of the pivot point has significant effects on the stability of the inverted pendulum. The theoretical results are consistent with everyday experiences and observations as well as numerical simulations. Our research indicates that it is proper to applying the inverted pendulum model to analyze to dynamics of a pedestrian’s walking motion.