• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.75-85
• /
• 1995

The purpose of this study is to develop a force-platform system suitable for real situations in industry. The developed system is a 3-axis measurement type. It consists of force-transmission, force measuring circuit, and the software that analyzes the measured force. The force-transmission transmits forces to 3 axes, which has a physical structure to minimize the interference among those axes. Force measuring circuit consists of DSP (digital signal processor) for flexible disposal of change of measurement algorithm, elimination of noise and maintenance of precision. The functions of the software are the calibration which revises the measurement error occuring during data acquisition, and various analyses of forces. The result of the experiment shows that the developed system has about 1% measurement error, is stable for repeated experiments, and is not effected by temperature change.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2008.11a
• /
• pp.888-893
• /
• 2008

In This paper proposes the control algorithm for quadruped robots on irregularly sloped uneven surface. Body balance is important in stable running locomotion. Since the body balance is determined by the forces applied at the feet during touchdown phase, the ground reaction force is controlled for stable running. To control the forces at each foot, the desired force is generated. The generated desired force is compared with actual contact force, then, the difference between them modifies the foot trajectory. The desired force is generated by combination of the rate change of the angular and linear momentum at flight. Then the rate change of momentum determines each force distribution. The distribution of the force is carried out by fuzzy logic. The computer simulation is carried out with the commercial software RecurDyn$^{(R)}$. Dynamic model simulation program show that the stable running on the irregularly sloped uneven surface are accomplished by the proposed method.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.13-23
• /
• 2010

The purposes of this study was to investigate the biomechanical influence of the walking shoe with a plate spring in the heel and interchangeable heel cushioning elements. Eighteen subjects walked in three conditions: 1) the walking shoes Type A-1 with a soft heel insert, 2) the Type A-2 shoe with a stiff heel insert, 3) a general walking shoe(Type B). Ground reaction forces, leg movements, leg muscle activity and ankle, knee and hip joint loading were measured and calculated during overground walking. During walking, the ankle is a few degrees more dorsiflexed during landing and the knee is slightly more flexed during takeoff with the Type A shoes. As a result of the changes in the walking movement, the ground reaction forces are applied more quickly and the peak magnitudes are higher. Muscle activity of the quadricep, hamstring and calf muscles decrease during the first 25% of the stance phase when walking in the Type A shoes. The resultant joint moments at the ankle, knee and hip joints decrease from 30-40% with the largest reductions occurring during landing.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.731-744
• /
• 2007

A method for dynamic analysis and design calculation of a Powertrain Mounting System(PMS) including Hydraulic Engine Mounts(HEM) is developed with the aim of controlling powertrain motion and reducing low-frequency vibration in pitch and bounce modes. Here the pitch mode of the powertrain is defined as the mode rotating around the crankshaft of an engine for a transversely mounted powertrain. The powertrain is modeled as a rigid body connected to rigid ground by rubber mounts and/or HEMs. A mount is simplified as a three-dimensional spring with damping elements in its Local Coordinate System(LCS). The relation between force and displacement of each mount in its LCS is usually nonlinear and is simplified as piecewise linear in five ranges in this paper. An equation for estimating displacements of the powertrain center of gravity(C.G.) under static or quasi-static load is developed using Newton's second law, and an iterative algorithm is presented to calculate the displacements. Also an equation for analyzing the dynamic response of the powertrain under ground and engine shake excitations is derived using Newton's second law. Formulae for calculating reaction forces and displacements at each mount are presented. A generic PMS with four rubber mounts or two rubber mounts and two HEMs are used to validate the dynamic analysis and design calculation methods. Calculated displacements of the powertrain C.G. under static or quasi-static loads show that a powertrain motion can meet the displacement limits by properly selecting the stiffness and coordinates of the tuning points of each mount in its LCS using the calculation methods developed in this paper. Simulation results of the dynamic responses of a powertrain C.G. and the reaction forces at mounts demonstrate that resonance peaks can be reduced effectively with HEMs designed on the basis of the proposed methods.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.44-49
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of auditory cues in the form of a metronome on gait initiation (GI) in Parkinson's disease (PD). 2 patients (mean age: 54 yrs) with idiopathic PD participated in the study. All patients (Hoehn and Yahr disability score of 2.0) were tested in the "on" state approximately 1.5 hours following the administration and fully responding to their PD medications. Subjects first initiated walking at self-initiated speeds to determine their cadences. Then, subjects were asked to initiate gait along the walkway while keeping pace with a metronome. The metronome rate (in beats/min) was set at a cadence 85% (slow condition), 100% (normal condition) and 115% (fast condition) of gait for each subject. Subjects were able to increase the speed of GI with faster cadence, but the speed of GI for the slow condition was similar to that of the normal condition. Swing toe-off was 578.3 ms for the fast condition, 709.4 ms for the normal condition and 736.2 ms for the slow condition. Respective times for swing heel-strike were 894.3 ms, 1110.2 ms and 1119.1 ms, and stance toe-off were 1105.4 ms, 1338.5 ms, and 1343.1 ms. Except for stance unloading ground reaction forces were greatest for the fast condition and smallest for the slow condition. It appears that PD patients were able to modulate GRFs and temporal events in response to auditory cues to achieve the peak acceleration force of the swing and stance limb. The findings from this study provided preliminary data, which could be used to investigate how PD patients modulate GRFs and temporal events during GI in response to tasks.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.66-74
• /
• 2007

The aim of the present study was to investigate age-related differences in stepping behavior in response to sensory perturbations of postural balance. The participants for this study were 2 healthy elderly adults (mean age=76.0) and 2 younger adults (mean age=25.5). Subjects were asked to step over a 10 cm high obstacle at self-paced speed with the right limb to land on the primary target (normal step length) that is 10 cm in diameter. However, if, during movement, the light was illuminated, then the subject had to step on the secondary target (long step length). It was planned that the onset of the light would be prior to peak Fx of swing limb, between swing peak Fx and swing toe-off, and after swing toe-off. In the younger adults these secondary visual cues were provided at mean times of 240 ms (standard deviation (SD)=11), 402 ms (SD=13), and 476 ms (SD=88) following the movement onset. Corresponding mean times for the healthy elderly were 150 ms (SD=67), 352 ms (SD=39), and 562 ms (SD=115). Results showed great changes in both group and visual cue condition in Fx ground reaction forces and temporal events following the swing toe-off. Swing limb acceleration force (Fx) and stance peak Fx1 was much greater in the young adults compared to the older adults. Both young and older adults increased stance peak Fx2 in the visual cue condition compared to normal stepping. There was no difference in stance peak Fx2 between the visual cue conditions in both groups. Similarly, the time to stance peak Fx2 was much longer for the visual cue condition than for the normal stepping. It was not different between the visual cue conditions in the young adults, but in the elderly mid and late cue was much greater than early cue. In addition, time to stance peak Fx2 and swing and stance time were much longer in the older adults compared to the young adults for the visual cue conditions. These results suggest that unlike young adults, elderly adults did not flexibly modify their responses to unexpected changes in step length while stepping over obstacles.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.659-665
• /
• 2010

This paper proposes a control algorithm for quadruped robots moving on irregularly sloped uneven surfaces. Since the body balance of a quadruped robot is controlled by the forces acting on its feet during touchdown, the ground reaction force (GRF) is controlled for stable running. The desired GRF for each foot is generated on the basis of the desired galloping pattern; this GRF is then compared with the actual contact force. The difference between the two forces is used to modify the foot trajectory. The desired force is realized by considering a combination of the rate change of the angular and linear momenta at flight. Then, the amplitude of the GRF to be applied at each foot in order to achieve the desired linear and angular momenta is determined by fuzzy logic. Dynamic simulations of galloping motion were performed using RecurDyn; these simulations show that the proposed control method can be used to achieve stable galloping for a quadruped robot on irregularly sloped uneven surfaces.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.79-86
• /
• 2006

The purpose of the current experiment was to describe interlimb coordination when swing limb conditions are being manipulated by constraining step length or by adding a 5 or 10 pound weight to the swing limb distally. Subjects were asked to begin walking with the right limb to land on the primary target (normal step length) that is 10 cm in diameter. However, if, during movement, the light was illuminated, then the subject had to step on one of the secondary targets (long and short step length). These three step length conditions were repeated while wearing a 5 pound ankle weight and then when wearing a 10 pound ankle weight. Ground reaction force (GRF) data indicated that there were changes in the forces and slopes of the swing and stance Fx GRFs. Long stepping subjects had to increase the propulsive force required to increase step length. Consequently, swing and stance toe-off greatly increased in the long step length condition. Short step length subjects had to adequately adjust step length, which decreased the speed of gait initiation. Loading the swing limb decreased the force and slope of the swing limb. Swing and stance toe-off was longest for the long step length condition, but there was a small difference of temporal events between no weight and weight condition. It appears that subjects modulated GRFs and temporal events differently to achieve the peak acceleration force of the swing and stance limb in response to different tasks. The findings from the current study provide preliminary data, which can be used to further investigate how we modulate forces during voluntary movement from a quiet stance. This information may be important if we are to use this or a similar task to evaluate gait patterns of the elderly and patient populations.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.197-204
• /
• 2016

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the kinematic factors of motion during air pistol shooting. Method: This study aimed to investigate changes in forces during movement and determine the factors that affect changes in force during the first, middle, and last periods of shooting an air pistol. Two ground reaction force systems (force platform), SCATT (a shooting training system), and EMG (electromyogram) to measure the action potentials in the muscles of the upper body were used in this study. Four university air pistol players (age: 19.75 years, height: 175.50 cm, body mass: $69.55{\pm}11.50kg$, career length: $6.25{\pm}6years$) who are training to progress to a higher rank were enrolled. Results: In terms of the actual shooting results, the mean score in the middle section was $42.48{\pm}1.74$ points, higher than those in the first and the last periods when using SCATT. The gunpoint moved 13.48 mm more vertically than horizontally in the target trajectory. With respect to action potentials of muscles measured using EMG, the highest action potentials during the aiming-shooting segments, in order higher to lower, were seen in the trapezius (intermediate region), trapezius (superior region), deltoid (lateral), and triceps brachii (long head). The action potentials of biceps brachii and brachioradialis turned out to be high during grasping motion, which is a preparatory stage. During the final segment, muscle fatigue appeared in the deltoid (lateral), biceps brachii (long head), brachioradialis, and trapezius (intermediate region). In terms of the ground reaction force, during the first period of shooting, there was a major change in the overall direction (left-right $F_x$, forward-backward $F_y$, vertical $F_z$) of the center of the mass. Conclusion: The development and application of a training program focusing on muscle groups with higher muscle fatigue is required for players to progress to a higher rank. Furthermore, players can improve their records in the first period if they take part in a game after warming up sufficiently before shooting in order to heighten muscle action potentials, and are expected to maintain a consistent shooting motion continuously by restoring psychological stability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.85-92
• /
• 2016

PURPOSE: A good, valid, and feasible tool for evaluating sit to stand (STS) is needed to help clinicians quantify the STS ability of stroke patients and people with balance disorders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concurrent validity of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) and a force plate during STS and gait. METHODS: Seventeen healthy adults performed five trials of STS and gait on the WBB placed on the force plate. The force plate and the WBB were compared in regard to center of pressure (COP) and ground reaction force (GRF) data that were collected simultaneously. The variables used for analysis were time (s), integral summation (%), COP path length (mm), COP x range, and COP y range, all of which were measured for both tasks. Counter (%), peak (%), and rebound (%) were analyzed for STS, and $1^{st}$ peak (%), min peak (%), and 2nd peak (%) were analyzed for gait. The concurrent validity was analyzed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and a standard error of measurement (SEM) with a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: The concurrent validity of the WBB for STS ranged from fair to good (ICC=.701~.994, SEM=.029~3.815). The concurrent validity for gait was good (ICC=.869 ~.989, SEM=.007~2.052) aside from path length and x and y ranges of COP (ICC=-.150~.371, SEM=3.635~4.142). CONCLUSION: The GRF of the WBB has a good validity for STS and gait analysis. The WBB is remarkably portable, easy to use, and convenient for clinically assessing STS and gait.