• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.677-688
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• 2008

In this paper, the general problem of impedance control for a robotic manipulator with a moving flexible base is addressed. Impedance control imposes a relation between force and displacement at the contact point with the environment. The concept of impedance control of flexible base mobile manipulator is rather new and is being considered for first time using singular perturbation and new sliding mode control methods by authors. Initially slow and fast dynamics of robot are decoupled using singular perturbation method. Slow dynamics represents the dynamics of the manipulator with rigid base. Fast dynamics is the equivalent effect of the flexibility in the base. Then, using sliding mode control method, an impedance control law is derived for the slow dynamics. The asymptotic stability of the overall system is guaranteed using a combined control law comprising the impedance control law and a feedback control law for the fast dynamics. As first time, base flexibility was analyzed accurately in this paper for flexible base moving manipulator (FBMM). General dynamic decoupling, whole system stability guarantee and new composed robust control method were proposed. This proposed Sliding Mode Impedance Control Method (SMIC) was simulated for two FBMM models. First model is a simple FBMM composed of a 2 DOFs planar manipulator and a single DOF moving base with flexibility in between. Second FBMM model is a complete advanced 10 DOF FBMM composed of a 4 DOF manipulator and a 6 DOF moving base with flexibility. This controller provides desired position/force control accurately with satisfactory damped vibrations especially at the point of contact. This is the first time that SMIC was addressed for FBMM.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.117-126
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• 2007

In this paper, we propose an early rehabilitation training system for the improvement of postural balance with multi-modality on a tilting bed. The integration of the visual, somatosensory and vestibular functions is significant to for maintaining the postural control of the human body. However, conventional rehabilitation systems do not provide multi-modality to trainees. We analyzed the characterization of postural control at different tilt angles of an early rehabilitation training system, which consists of a tilting bed, a visual feedback, a computer interface, a computer, and a force plate. The software that we developed for the system consists of the training programs and the analysis programs. To evaluate the characterization of postural control, we conducted the first evaluation before the beginning of the training. In the following four weeks, 12 healthy young and 5 healthy elderly subjects were trained to improve postural control using the training programs with the tilting bed. After four weeks of training, we conducted the second evaluation. The analysis programs assess (center of pressure) COP moving time, COP maintaining time, and mean absolute deviation of the trace before and after training at different tilt angles on the bed. After 4 weeks, the COP moving time was reduced, the COP maintaining time was lengthened, and the mean absolute deviation of the trace was lowered through the repeated use of vertical, horizontal, dynamic circle movement training programs. These results show that this system improves postural balance and could be applied to clinical use as an effective training system.

• Bulletin of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.32-40
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• 1989

Dynamic ship positioning(DP) system is used to keep the position and heading of a ship, or a floating platform, above a pre-selected site on the seabed by using thrusters. This paper presents a control system based on filtering technique and optimal control theory. The planar motions of a vessel are assumed to consist of low frequency(LF) component and high frequency(HF) one. The former is mainly due to thrusters, current, wind and second order wave forces, while the latter is mainly due to first order oscillatory component of the wave force. Furthermore position measurement signals include the noise. By means of self-tuning filter and Kalman filter techniques, LF motion estimates and HF ones are seperately achieved from the position measurements of the vessel. The estimated LF motions are used as input to the feedback loops. The total thruster power is minimized using the Linear Quadratic Gaussian control theory. The performance of the vessel with the DP system is investigated by computer simulation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.619-636
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• 2017

Magnetorheological (MR) damper is a type of controllable device widely used in vibration mitigation. This device is highly nonlinear, and exhibits strongly hysteretic behavior that is dependent on both the motion imposed on the device and the strength of the surrounding electromagnetic field. An accurate model for understanding and predicting the nonlinear damping force of the MR damper is crucial for its control applications. The MR damper models are often identified off-line by conducting regression analysis using data collected under constant voltage. In this study, a MR damper model is integrated with a model for the power supply unit (PSU) to consider the dynamic behavior of the PSU, and then a real-time nonlinear model updating technique is proposed to accurately identify this integrated MR damper model with the efficiency that cannot be offered by off-line methods. The unscented Kalman filter is implemented as the updating algorithm on a cyber-physical model updating platform. Using this platform, the experimental study is conducted to identify MR damper models in real-time, under in-service conditions with time-varying current levels. For comparison purposes, both off-line and real-time updating methods are applied in the experimental study. The results demonstrate that all the updated models can provide good identification accuracy, but the error comparison shows the real-time updated models yield smaller relative errors than the off-line updated model. In addition, the real-time state estimates obtained during the model updating can be used as feedback for potential nonlinear control design for MR dampers.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.185-223
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• 2008

This paper considers a heterogeneous agent dynamic general equilibrium model and analyzes effects of an increase in labor income tax rate on labor market and the aggregate variables in Korea. The fiscal policy regarding how the government uses the additional tax revenue may take the two forms: 1) general transfer and 2) earned income tax credit (EITC). The model features are as follows: 1) Workers are heterogeneous in their productivity. 2)Labor is indivisible, hence the analysis focuses on the variation in labor supply through the extensive margin in response to a change in fiscal policy. 3) The incomplete markets are introduced, so individual workers can not perfectly insure themselves against risks related to stochastic changes in income or employment status. 4) The model is of general equilibrium, hence it is equiped to analyze the feedback effect of changes in aggregate variables on individual workers' decisions. In the case of general transfer policy, the government equally distributes the additional tax revenue to all workers regardless of their employment states. Under this policy, an increase in the labor income tax rate dampens work incentives of individual workers so that the aggregate employment rate decreases by 1% compared with the benchmark economy. In the case of EITC policy, only employed workers whose labor incomes are below a certain EITC ceiling are eligible for the EITC benefits. Unlike the general transfer policy, the EITC induces low-income workers to participate the labor market to be eligible for EITC benefits. Hence, the aggregate employment rate may increase by 2.7% at the maximum. As the EITC ceiling increases, too many workers can collect the EITC but the benefits per worker becomes too little so that the increase in employment rate is negligible. By and large, this study demonstrates that EITC may effectively raise the aggregate employment rate, and that it can be a useful policy tool in response to the decrease in the labor force due to population aging as observed in Korea recently.