A FORCE ENERGY OPTIMIZATION MODEL FOR WHEELCHAIR ATHLETICS

Wheelchair athletic performance is posed as an optimal control problem. The solution to the optimal control problem using force as the control variable and energy as the constraint is presented, along with the results of an experiment on the dynamics of racing wheelchair propulsion. The parameters derived from results of this experiment and appropriate results from previous investigations are applied to the force/energy model to predict possible U.S. wheelchair athletics records. The model predicted results were compared to existing U.S. records and found to be within 5%. This result reflects the belief that performances in wheelchair athletics are beginning to level out. In addition, the model presented represents a possible means for predicting a priori the performance of a wheelchair athlete. © 1990 IEEE