• 한국운동역학회지
• /
• 제17권2호
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2007

Walking is not only an essential component of the human mobility, but also is a good exercise. Inability to walk freely can reduce an individual's quality of life and independence substantially. Being a relatively low impact activity, walking is particularly good for the elderly and research has shown that regular walking in the elderly reduces the chance of fall-related injuries and mental diseases as well. In spite of the documented benefits of regular walking, it is still difficult to walk without the aid of assistive devices for the frail elderly who have lower extremity problems. Assistive walking devices(AWD), such as crutches, canes, hiking-poles, T-Poles and walkers, are often prescribed to the elderly to make their walking be safe and efficient. Many researchers have demonstrated the effects of AWDs such as reducing lower extremity loading, improved dynamic/gait stability, yet, no study has been done for gait pattern when the elderly gait with AWDs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether T-Poles, one of the AWDs, change the elderly gait pattern. Eight community-dwelling female elderly participated in this study. Laboratory kinematics during walking with T-Poles(PW) and with out T-Poles(NPW) was assessed. PW showed significant increase in step width, stride length, gait velocity and decrease in swing time. No significances were found in lower body joint angles but meaningful trend and pattern were found. Maybe the reason was due to the participants. Our participants were healthy enough so that the effect of T-Poles was minimum. PW also showed typical gait phases which are no single support phase during a gait cycle. It indicates that walking with T-Poles may guarantee safe and confident walking to the frail elderly.

• 대한기계학회논문집A
• /
• 제41권10호
• /
• pp.991-996
• /
• 2017

인간의 보행에서 안정적인 디딤을 가능하게 하는 동작특성은 보행 일주기의 60%를 차지하는 긴 디딤국면이다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 보행패턴을 자전거의 크랭크 구동장치에 반영하여 직립자세에서 안정적으로 구동할 수 있는 자전거를 설계하고자 한다. 크랭크의 회전속도를 디딤국면에서는 느리게 되돌림국면에서는 빠르게 움직이도록 급속귀환 기구를 크랭크 구동시스템에 적용하였다. 이 급속귀환 크랭크기구의 설계변수를 정의하고 설계변수의 변화가 크랭크의 거동에 미치는 영향을 시뮬레이션 하였다. 또한 실험장치를 제작한 후 탑승자의 구동동작을 분석한 결과 보행패턴을 접목한 크랭크는 사용자 무게중심 안정화에 기여하는 것으로 나타났다. 향후 보행패턴을 접목한 크랭크는 서서 타는 자전거의 구동시스템에 접목 가능할 것으로 보인다.

• 전기학회논문지
• /
• 제65권4호
• /
• pp.673-677
• /
• 2016

In this study, In order to measure foot pressure, it makes analyzing device using multi-pressure sensor. This device was limited frequency band to 5Hz by using low-pass filter and MCU was detected signal every milliseconds. After wearing the device, the result was confirmed by blue-tooth to measure wirelessly. Also, we propose an algorithm to obtain the walking pattern using a time table in each of the detected peak from the pressure sensor. Using the algorithm, right walking pattern and abnormal pattern was detected. The results can be reflected more individual walking patterns than when using a conventional methods and also, developed device was no restriction on the human activity.

• 한국정밀공학회지
• /
• 제29권3호
• /
• pp.346-353
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study is to verify the energy efficiency of the integrated system combining human and a lower extremity exoskeleton robot when it is applied to the proposed gait pattern. Energy efficient gait pattern of the lower limb was proposed through leg function distribution during stance phase and the dynamic-manipulability ellipsoid (DME). To verify the feasibility and effect of the redefined gait trajectory, simulations and experiments were conducted under the conditions of walking on level ground and ascending and descending from a staircase. Experiments to calculate the metabolic cost of the human body with or without the assistance of the exoskeleton were conducted. The energy consumption of the lower extremity exoskeleton was assessed, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the integrated system.

• 한국운동역학회지
• /
• 제26권1호
• /
• pp.101-113
• /
• 2016

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of leg length discrepancy (LLD) on the human body during gait and standing posture. Methods: The study group comprised of 17 adult participants with LLDs of <1 cm. LLDs were artificially induced to 0, 1, 2, and 3 cm. The proportion of weight distribution, shift of the mean center of pressure, and Cobb's angle were measured in the standing position. Kinematic variables such as walking and striding width and time, and the proportion of stance phase for single- and double-limb gait were measured as well. The participants were required to either stand or walk on a treadmill (Zebris FDM) with a pressure plate, and the Cobb's angle measurements were obtained from radiographs. Results: A discrepancy of 3 cm in leg length resulted in a statistically significant shift of the center of pressure in the standing position. Moreover, the Cobb angle increased as the discrepancy became larger. The step length and width of the longer (left) leg during gait statistically significantly increased when the discrepancy was 2 cm. In addition, step time was statistically significant when the discrepancy between the longer (right) and shorter (left) legs was more than 2 cm. The proportion of single-limb stance phase was statistically significant as the discrepancy became larger, especially when the discrepancy was >2 cm for the longer (right) leg and 1 cm for the shorter (right) leg. Conclusion: The study showed that LLD influenced deformations of the human body and walking.

• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
• /
• 제15권3호
• /
• pp.315-322
• /
• 2009

This paper explains a control and navigation algorithm of a 6-DOF gait rehabilitation robot, which can allow a patient to navigate in virtual reality (VR) by upper and lower limbs interactions. In gait rehabilitation robots, one of the important concerns is not only to follow the robot motions passively, but also to allow the patient to walk by his/her intention. Thus, this robot allows automatic walking velocity update by estimating interaction torques between the human and the upper limb device, and synchronizing the upper limb device to the lower limb device. In addition, the upper limb device acts as a user-friendly input device for navigating in virtual reality. By pushing the switches located at the right and left handles of the upper limb device, a patient is able to do turning motions during navigation in virtual reality. Through experimental results of a healthy subject, we showed that rehabilitation training can be more effectively combined to virtual environments with upper and lower limb connections. The suggested navigation scheme for gait rehabilitation robot will allow various and effective rehabilitation training modes.

• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
• /
• 제10권9호
• /
• pp.833-839
• /
• 2004

This paper proposes a method that minimizes the consumed energy by searching the optimal locations of the mass centers of links composing of a biped robot using Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm. Generally, in order to utilize optimization algorithms, the system model and design variables must be defined. Firstly, the proposed model is a 6-DOF biped robot composed of seven links, since many of the essential characteristics of the human walking motion can be captured with a seven-link planar biped walking in the saggital plane. Next, Fourth order polynomials are used for basis functions to approximate the walking gait. The coefficients of the fourth order polynomials are defined as design variables. In order to use the method generating the optimal gait trajectory by searching the locations of mass centers of links, three variables are added to the total number of design variables. Real-Coded GA is used for optimization algorithm by reason of many advantages. Simulations and the comparison of three methods to generate gait trajectories including the GCIPM were performed. They show that the proposed method can decrease the consumed energy remarkably and be applied during the design phase of a robot actually.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
• /
• 제2권2호
• /
• pp.110-115
• /
• 2004

The prosthesis of current commercialized apparatus has considerable problems, requiring improvement. Especially, LLP(Lower Limb Prosthesis)-related problems have improved, but it cannot provide normal walking because, mainly, the gait control of the LLP does not fit with patient's gait manner. To solve this problem, HCI((Human Computer Interaction) that adapts and controls LLP postures according to patient's gait manner more effectively is studied in this research. The proposed control technique has 2 steps： 1) the multilayer neural network forecasts angles of gait of LLP by using the angle of normal side of lower limbs； and 2) the adaptive neural controller manages the postures of the LLP based on the predicted joint angles. According to the experiment data, the prediction error of hip angles was 0.32［deg.］, and the predicted error of knee angles was 0.12［deg.] for the estimated posture angles for the LLP. The performance data was obtained by applying the reference inputs of the LLP controller while walking. Accordingly, the control performance of the hip prosthesis improved by 80% due to the control postures of the LLP using the reference input when comparing with LQR controller.

• 한국전자통신학회논문지
• /
• 제18권4호
• /
• pp.731-736
• /
• 2023

보행은 특정 단계를 반복하는 주기적인 동작으로 사람의 기본 이동방법이다. 보행 분석을 통해 여러 가지 근골격계의 건강상태를 판별할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 공간의 제약 없이 보행 분석을 할 수 있는 착용형 센서 시스템을 제안한다. 거리를 측정하는 ToF(: Time-of-Flight) 센서와 기울기를 측정하는 IMU(: Inertial Measurement Unit) 센서로 보행 중의 뒤꿈치 궤적을 도출한다. 낙상의 위험이 있는 이상보행을 할 때의 뒤꿈치 궤적의 변화 양상을 분석하여 보행을 평가한다.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
• /
• 제18권2호
• /
• pp.211-220
• /
• 2004

It is well known that the geometry of the articular surface has a major role in determining the position of articular contact and the lines of action for the contact forces. The contact force calculation of the knee joint under the effect of sliding and rolling is one of the most challenging issues in this field. We present a 3-D human knee joint model including sliding and rolling motions and major ligaments to calculate the lateral and medial condyle contact forces from the recovered total internal reaction force using inverse dynamic contact modeling and the Least-Square method. As results, it is believed that the patella, muscles and tendon affect a lot for the internal reaction forces at the initial heel contact stage. With increasing flexion angles during gait, the decreasing contact area is progressively shifted to the posterior direction on the tibia plateau. In addition, the medial side contact force is larger than the lateral side contact force in the knee joint during normal human walking. The total internal forces of the knee joint are reasonable compared to previous studies.