• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.359-366
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• 2023

In order to fully utilize the functions of the hand which is the end effector of the upper limb, other parts of the upper limb have to perform their own roles. Among them, the pronation and supination of the forearm, which allows the hand to rotate along the longitudinal direction of the forearm, play an important role in activities of daily living. In this paper, a soft wearable robot that assists the pronation and supination of the forearm for individuals with weakened or lost upper limb function is proposed. The wearable robot consists of an anchoring part with polymer (wrist strap, elbow strap), a tendon with a belt and wire, and an actuation module. It was developed based on the requirements with respect to friction of anchoring part, forearm compression, and friction of the tendon. It was confirmed that these requirements were satisfied through literature review and experiments. Since all components exist within the forearm when worn, it is expected to be easy to combine with the already developed soft wearable robots for the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

• The Transactions of the Korea Information Processing Society
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.2920-2929
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• 2000

In this paper, a cyber training institute system suitable for teachers' training is designed and implemented, and it is applied to and evaluated on the actual spot. While general purpose cyber education systems have too much unnecessary functions and are inconvenient to operate, this system removes the unnecessary functions and has only useful functions. This system is much concerned with the interaction among learners, instructors, administrators and contents. This system is characterized by having menu items such as Searching Learners, Taking Attendance, Information for Learners, Assignment Hand out, Group Debate, Cyber Cafe and Access Statistic to promote the interaction. The result of the application of this system to 554 teachers for two years is that the ratio of completion was 95%.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.959-964
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• 2010

In this work, equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in a microcanonical ensemble are performed to evaluate the friction coefficient of a Brownian particle (BP) in a Lennard-Jones (LJ) solvent. The friction coefficients are determined from the time dependent friction coefficients and the momentum autocorrelation functions of the BP with its infinite mass at various ratios of LJ size parameters of the BP and solvent, ${\sigma}_B/{\sigma}_s$. The determination of the friction coefficients from the decay rates of the momentum autocorrelation functions and from the slopes of the time dependent friction coefficients is difficult due to the fast decay rates of the correlation functions in the momentum-conserved MD simulation and due to the scaling of the slope as 1/N (N: the number of the solvent particle), respectively. On the other hand, the friction coefficient can be determined correctly from the time dependent friction coefficient by measuring the extrapolation of its long time decay to t=0 and also from the decay rate of the momentum autocorrelation function, which is obtained by time integration of the time dependent friction coefficient. It is found that while the friction coefficient increases quadratically with the ratio of ${\sigma}_B/{\sigma}_s$ for all ${\sigma}_B$, for a given ${\sigma}_s$ the friction coefficient increases linearly with ${\sigma}_B$.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.70-76
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• 1999

Rice farming is not only the most important income resources of Korean farmers but also the roots of Korean traditional culture. Paddy fields have acted as an food supply base but also have contributed to the public multi-functions such as flood control, water conservation, controlling soil erosion, providing recreational and resting spaces, water purification, air cleaning, oxygen supply and air cooling and so on. The public multi-functions of paddy except rice production have not been evaluated before UR negotiation and starting WTO system. Under the drastic changes of rice economic settings as price decrease of rice and downward decrease of farm income, Korean and Japanese farmers might have lost their intention to grow rice in paddy fields without the direct payment system to compensate rice income decrease. To adapt the direct payment system, the total public value of multi-function of paddy should be identified in terms of money. According to the research results, the total value of multi-functional value of paddy in Korea were estimated 21,596thousand won which is higher than rice production value by 2.1 times. On the other hand the total value of Japanese paddy were amounted to 21,390 Yen which is more than that of Korea by 10times outstandingly. Likewise Japanese have evaluated the paddy field very important enterprise from the view point of food security and multi -functions of paddy to their socio-economic life and environmental sustainability in Japan.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.365-386
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• 2013

Monitoring systems currently applied to concrete bridges include strain gauges, inclinometers, accelerometers and displacement transducers. In general, vertical displacements are one of the parameters that more often need to be assessed because their information reflects the overall response of the bridge span. However, the implementation of systems to continuously and directly observe vertical displacements is known to be difficult. On the other hand, strain gauges and inclinometers are easier to install, but their measurements provide no more than indirect information regarding the bridge deflection. In this context, taking advantage of the information collected through strain gauges and inclinometers, and the processing capabilities of current computers, a procedure to evaluate bridge girder deflections based on polynomial functions is presented. The procedure has been implemented in an existing software system - MENSUSMONITOR -, improving the flexibility in the data handling and enabling faster data processing by means of real time visualization capabilities. Benefiting from these features, a comprehensive analysis aiming at assessing the suitability of polynomial functions as an approximate solution for deflection curves, is presented. The effect of boundary conditions and the influence of the order of the polynomial functions on the accuracy of results are discussed. Some recommendations for further instrumentation plans are provided based on the results of the present analysis. This work is supported throughout by monitoring data collected from a laboratory beam model and two full-scale bridges.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.34 no.6B
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• pp.630-640
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• 2009

The thesis suggests hand-held equipment to overhaul for mobile TFT LCD/OLED module of high-performance. The established module equipment to overhaul could distinguish outputting video data to module for distinguishing flicker, but it is impossible with low system. In this thesis, supporting system could check the various supplement functions from bringing equipment to overhaul without changing design of FPGA or H/W the module various size for equipment to overhaul for module of high-performance coincidently. The system includes hand-held equipment to overhaul, test software embedded and software a base personal computer and have designed to output, save, and certify all contents of module test of hand-held equipment to overhaul to interface universal serial bus. Setting up 9 items that represent for efficient verification of the proposed system have been possible confirmation with TFT LCD/OLED module of high-performance, establishment scan time, creation gamma, changing register, supporting interface, and multi inch modules.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1497-1502
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• 2012

To manufacture a robot hand that essentially mimics the functions of a human hand, it is necessary to develop flexible actuators and sensors. In this study, we propose the design, manufacture, and performance verification of flexible actuators and sensors based on Electro Active Polymer (EAP). EAP is fabricated as a type of film, and it moves with changes in the voltage because of contraction and expansion in the polymer film. Furthermore, if a force is applied to an EAP film, its thickness and effective area change, and therefore, the capacitance also changes. By using this mechanism, we produce capacitive actuators and sensors. In this study, we propose an EAP-based capacitive sensor and evaluate its use as a robot hand sensor.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.172-182
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• 2024

This study aimed to evaluate the superficial anatomy, kinesiology, and functions of the hand to reveal its morphometry and apply the findings in various fields such as prosthetic hand and protective hand support product design. We examined 51 young adults (32 females, 19 males) aged between 18-30. Hand photographs were taken, and measurements were conducted using ImageJ software. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to determine the relationship between personal information and the parameters. The results of the measurements showed the average lengths of finger segments: thumb (49.5±5.5 mm), index finger (63.9±4.1 mm), middle finger (70.7±5.2 mm), ring finger (65.5±4.8 mm), and little finger (53.3±4.3 mm). Both females and males, the left index finger was measured longer than the right index finger. The right ring finger was found to be longer than the left in both sexes. Additionally, length differences between fingers in extended and maximally adducted positions were determined: thumb-index finger (56.1±6.2 mm), index-middle finger (10.7±4.1 mm), middle-ring finger (10.8±1.4 mm), and ring-little finger (25.6±2.7 mm). Other findings included the average radial natural angle (56.4°±10.5°), ulnar natural angle (23.4°±7.1°), radial deviation angle (65.2°±8.2°), ulnar deviation angle (51.2°±9.6°), and grasping/gripping angle (49.1°±5.8°). The average angles between fingers in maximum abduction positions were also measured: thumb-index finger (53.4°±6.5°), index-middle finger (17.2°±2.6°), middle-ring finger (14.3°±2.3°), and ring-little finger (32.1°±7.0°). The study examined the variability in the positioning of proximal interphalangeal joints during maximum metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal flexion, coinciding with maximum distal interphalangeal extension movements. The focal points of our observations were the asymmetrical and symmetrical arches formed by these joints. This study provides valuable hand parameters in young adults, which can be utilized in various applications such as prosthetic design, ergonomic product development, and hand-related research. The results highlight the significance of considering individual factors when assessing hand morphology and function.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.362-369
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• 2012

Purpose: This study examined the effects of an elastic band resistance exercise program on the body functions and Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of elderly people with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Twenty-seven elderly patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in this study (exercise group 14, control group 13). The subjects in the exercise group participated in the program for 60 minutes a day, three times a week, for 12 weeks. All the subject's body functions, HbA1c were measured to compare the following: before the intervention, at the completion of the 12 weeks intervention, and eight weeks after the intervention. Results: Compared to the control group, the exercise group showed significant improvements in the 12 week and follow-up measurement after the intervention in body function, such as the strength of the upper and lower limbs, agility and limit of stability. The body functions of the exercise group improved as the period of intervention progressed. On the other hand, the HbA1c level at each follow-up measurement was similar in the two groups. Conclusion: The 12 week elastic band exercise program is recommended as an effective intervention for improving the body functions of elderly people with type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, a combined intervention of steady exercise, diet therapy and drug therapy will be needed for further active prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2013

In modern systems design and development, one of the key issues is considered to be related with how to reflect faithfully the stakeholder requirements including customer requirements therein, thereby successfully implementing the system functions derived from the requirements. On the other hand, the issue of safety management is also becoming greatly important these days, particularly in the operational phase of the systems under development. An approach to safety management can be based on the use of the failure mode effect and analysis (FMEA), which has been a core method adopted in automotive industry to reduce the potential failure. The fact that a successful development of cars needs to consider both the complexity and failure throughout the whole life cycle calls for the necessity of applying the systems engineering (SE) process. To meet such a need, in this paper a method of FMEA is developed based on the SE concept. To do so, a process model is derived first in order to identify the required activities that must be satisfied in automotive design while reducing the possibility of failure. Specifically, the stakeholder requirements were analyzed first to derive a set of functions, which subsequentially leads to the task of identifying necessary HW/SW components. Then the derived functions were allocated to appropriate HW/SW components. During this design process, the traceability between the functions and HW/SW components were generated. The traceability can play a key role when FMEA is performed to predict the potential failure that can be described with the routes from the components through the linked functions. As a case study, the developed process model has been applied in a project carried out in practice. The results turned out to demonstrate the usefulness of the approach.