A least action principle for interceptive walking

Abstract

Abstract The principle of least effort has been widely used to explain phenomena related to human behavior ranging from topics in language to those in social systems. It has precedence in the principle of least action from the Lagrangian formulation of classical mechanics. In this study, we present a model for interceptive human walking based on the least action principle. Taking inspiration from Lagrangian mechanics, a Lagrangian is defined as effort minus security, with two different specific mathematical forms. The resulting Euler–Lagrange equations are then solved to obtain the equations of motion. The model is validated using experimental data from a virtual reality crossing simulation with human participants. We thus conclude that the least action principle provides a useful tool in the study of interceptive walking.