Balancing on Slacklines: Modeling and Empirical Evaluation

I. MOTIVATION The way how humans maintain balance during standing and locomotion has been an active area of research for many years now, with applications in bipedal robotics, leg prosthetics, and rehabilitation. However, most studies are limited to standing and walking on immobile surfaces, or on externally perturbed platforms and treadmills. Less is known about unstable, passive support surfaces that move in interaction with the human standing on it, such as suspended platforms, tightropes, or slacklines. Slacklining (balancing on a slack rope) is a young sport that became popular in the climbing community and is now reaching a broader public. It has shown positive training effects on balance, as well as related reflex adaptation [1] and changes in strength [2]. However, neuromechanical control strategies during slacklining remain unclear.