• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.926-934
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• 2006

This paper proposes intelligent control of a virtual walking machine that can generate infinite floor for various surfaces and can provide proprioceptive feedback of walking to a user. This machine allows users to participate in a life-like walking experience in virtual environments with various terrains. The controller of the machine is implemented hierarchically, at low-level for robust actuator control, at mid-level fur platform control to compensate the external forces by foot contact, and at high-level control for generating walking trajectory. The high level controller is suggested to generate continuous walking on an infinite floor for various terrains. For the high level control, each independent platform follows a man foot during the swing phase, while the other platform moves back during single stance phase. During double limb support, two platforms manipulate neutral positions to compensate the offset errors generated by velocity changes. This control can, therefore, satisfy natural walking conditions in any direction. Transition phase between the swing and the stance phases is detected by using simple switch sensor system, while human foot motions are sensed by careful calibration with a magnetic motion tracker attached to the shoe. Experimental results of walking simulations at level ground, slope, and stairs, show that with the proposed machine, a general person can walk naturally on various terrains with safety and without any considerable disturbances. This interface can be applied to various areas such as VR navigations, rehabilitation, and gait analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.282-286
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• 2000

In this paper, magneto-rheological(MR) damper is studied for vibration control of large infra structures under earthquake. Generally, active control devices need a large control force and a high power supply system to reduce the vibration effectively. Large and miss tuned control force may induce the dangerous situation such that the generated large control force acts to amplify the structural vibration. Recently, to overcome the weaknesses of the active control, the semi-active control method is suggested by many researchers. Semi-active control uses the passive control device of which the characteristics can be modified. Control force of the semi-active device is not generated from the actuator with power supply. It is generated as a dynamic reaction force of the device same as in the passive control case, so the control system is inherently stable and robust. Unlike the case of passive control, control force of semi-active control is adjusted depending on the measured response of the structure, so the vibration can be reduced more effectively against various unknown environmental loads. Magneto-rheological(MR) damper is one of the semi-active devices. Dynamic characteristics of the MR material can be changed by applying the magnetic fields. So the control of MR damper needs only small power. Response time of MR to the input voltage is very short, so the high performance control is possible. MR damper has a high force capacity so it is adequate to the vibration control of large infra structure. Because MR damper has a nonlinear property, normal control method used in active control may not be effective. Clipped optimal control, modified bang-bang control etc. have been suggested to MR damper by many researchers. In this study, sliding mode fuzzy control(SMFC) is applied to MR damper. Genetic algorithm is used for the controller tuning. To verify the applicability of MR damper and suggested algorithm, numerical simulation on the aseismic control is carried out. Simulation model is three-story building structure, which was used in the paper of Dyke, et al. The control performance is compared with clipped optimal control. The present results indicate that the SMFC algorithm can reduce the earthquake-induced vibration very effectively.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.347-356
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• 2023

Liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) fibers have been widely applied in various fields, such as soft robots and biomimetic actuators, in a one-dimensional form. LCEs possess the characteristics of both fluidity and solid order, as well as the elasticity of rubber, and exhibit stimulus-response based on these properties. In particular, by programming the responsiveness to various stimuli such as heat, light, electric fields, and magnetic fields in terms of shape-changing, various movements such as lifting, twisting, and rotating can be realized with high degrees of freedom. Therefore, LCE fibers have the potential for application in various fields such as artificial muscles, soft robots, wearable technologies, and sensing technologies. The research on liquid crystal elastomer fibers is evaluated to have high applicability in various fields in the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a smart material that can include various functionalities beyond simple fibers. In this review, we introduce the structure and basic characteristics of liquid crystal elastomer fibers, the latest research trends on orientation-based fabrication methods, and various applications such as artificial muscles, smart fabrics, and soft robots.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1883-1886
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• 2005

In this paper, a decoupled dual servo (DDS) stage for ultra-precision scanning system with large working range is introduced. In general, dual servo systems consist of a fine stage for short range and a coarse stage for long range. The proposed DDS also consists of a $XY\theta$ fine stage for handling and carrying workpieces and one axis coarse stage. Its coarse stage consists of air bearing guide system and a coreless linear motor with force ripple. The fine has four voice coil motors(VCM) as its actuator. According to a VCM's nature, there are no mechanical connections between coils and magnetic circuits. Moreover, VCM doesn't have force ripples due to imperfections of commutation components of linear motor systems - currents and flux densities. However, due to the VCM's mechanical constraints the working range of the fine is about $25mm^2$. To break that hurdle, the coarse stage with linear motors is used to move the fine about 500mm. Because of the above reasons, the proposed DDS can achieve higher precision scanning than other stages with only one servo. With MATLAB's Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP), the VCMs are optimally designed for the highest force under conditions and constraints such as thermal dissipations due to its coil, its size, and so on. And for their movements without any frictions, guide systems of the DDS are composed of air bearings. To get precisely their positions, a linear scale with 5nm resolution are used for the coarse stage's motion and three plane mirror laser interferometers with 5nm for the fine's $XY\theta$ motions. With them, on scanning the two stages have same trajectories. The control algorithm is named Parallel method. The embodied ultra-precision scanning system has sub 100nm following error and in-positioning stability.