Abstract
This study examined the effect of ergonomic heel rest that was designed for drivers who have physical handicap in the low leg muscles or have to drive prolonged hours with frequent foot pedaling. An experiment was designed to test the ergonomic heel rest with traditional foot pedal. Forty subjects participated in the experiment. Electromyography(EMG) was used to monitor the muscle activity and fatigue of right leg, and Electro-goniometer was used to measure the ranges of motions of the knee and ankle. A simulator of driver's seat was built for the experiment and the heel rest was installed on it. In order to examine the low muscle activity and range of motion, subjects used the foot pedal for 15 minutes repetitively for each experimental condition. Another 15 minutes test without the heel rest was also performed for comparison. The Root Mean Square(RMS) and Mean Power Frequency(MPF) Shift were used to quantify the level of muscle activity and local muscle fatigue. In results, statistically significant decreases of muscle activity and fatigue were found in all the low leg muscles. The range of motion of the knee and ankle joint also decreased when the heel rest was used. The mechanism of the heel rest effect was discussed in this study. This type of heel rest can be applied to real driving situation after ensuring the safety, or overcoming the psychological discomfort possibly due to unfamiliarity.
