• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.181-188
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• 2010

This paper presents the control algorithm of active walking aids estimating external torque of the wheels from user's will. Nowadays, interest of the walking aids is increased according to the increase in population of elder and handicapped person. Although many walking aids are developed, most of walking aids don't have any actuators for its movement. However, general walking aids have weakness for its movement to upward/download direction of slope. To overcome the weakness of the general walking aids, many researches for active type walking aids are being progressed. Unfortunately it is difficult to precision control of walking will during its movement, because it is not easy to recognize user's walking will. Many kinds of methods are proposed to recognize of user's walking will. In this paper, we propose control algorithm of walking aids by using torque estimation from wheels. First, we measure wheel velocity and voltage at the walking aids. From these data, external forces are extracted. And then walking will that is included by walking velocity and direction is estimated. Finally, walking aids are controlled by these data. Here, all the processes are verified by simulation.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1787-1792
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• 2016

Previous walking pattern generation methods could generate walking patterns that allow only straight walking on flat and uneven terrain. They were unable to generate modifiable walking patterns whereby the sagittal and lateral step lengths and walking direction can be changed at every footstep. This paper proposes a novel walking pattern generation method to realize modifiable walking of humanoid robots on unknown uneven terrain. The proposed method employs a walking pattern generator based on the 3-D linear inverted pendulum model (LIPM), which enables a humanoid robot to vary its walking patterns at every footstep. A control strategy for walking on unknown uneven terrain is proposed. Virtual spring-damper (VSD) models are used to compensate for the disturbances that occur between the robot and the terrain when the robot walks on uneven terrain with unknown height. In addition, methods for generating the foot and vertical center of mass (COM) of the 3-D LIPM trajectories are developed to realize stable walking on unknown uneven terrain. The proposed method is implemented on a small-sized humanoid robot platform, DARwIn-OP and its effectiveness is demonstrated experimentally.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.566-572
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• 2013

This study aims to compared effect of balance between general walking exercise and power walking exercise. Twenty subjects were classified into two groups, general walking exercise(n=10) and power walking exercise(n=10). As a result, two group showed difference within the group and there is significant difference between two groups. 1) In compared static balance of sway area at pre-post test to exercise group, general walking exercise group did not change significantly. however, power walking exercise group did change significantly. and At sway distance, two group showed significant changes. 2) In compared Static balance between the groups sway area and sway path at pre-post test, two group showed significant changes. 3) In compared dynamic balance of center distance at pre-post test to exercise group, general walking exercise group was no significant difference in all directions. power walking exercise group was significant difference in all directions. 4) In compared dynamic balance between the groups sway area and sway path at pre-post test, there was no significant difference in leftward, rightward, forward directions and was significant difference in backward, overall direction. Therefore, power walking exercise can be recommended promote balance.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.1225-1230
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• 2016

This paper deals with performing missions of a small biped robot using image processing. Localization is required for stable walking under a given map. Localization of the robot is done by extracting boundary on a driving course. Estimation of three parameters including location and orientation is required when walking on a plane. In this paper, two parameters including the location of the robot along the vertical direction of robot's walking direction and an orientation is estimated for localization. Color is used for the detection of obstacles and normalized values are used for the stable detection.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1988.10a
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• pp.103-108
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• 1988

A walking robot must have the ability to change the body direction in order to avoid the obstacles. In this paper, we develop a gait control algorithm that can maintain the stable movement of the robot for three different modes of changing directions. The algorithm makes it possible for the robot to have the larger gait stability margin than the threshold value by the method of changing the body speed.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.71-82
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• 2008

W. S. CHAE, Ground Reaction Force Charateristics During Forward and Backward Walking Over 20 Degree Ramp. Korean Journal of Sport Biomechanics, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 71-82, 2008. The purpose of this study was to compare GRF characteristics during forward and backward walking over 20 degree ramp. Temporal parameters, GRFs, displacement of center of pressure (DCP), and loading and decay rates were determined for each trial. The results showed that the vertical GRF in BD during RTO was significantly greater than those found in FU. This reults indicated that GRF patterns may be changed by different walking conditions and altering position of ankle, knee, and center of mass throughout the walking cycle. The DCP during $RHC_2$-LHC in antero-posterior direction for downward was smaller than the corresponding value for upward condition. It' seems that the ankle and knee joints are locked in an awkward fashion at the toe contact to compensate for imbalance. Reducing the magnitude of loading rate can be achieved by walking in the backward direction. Accordingly, the results can be a benefit if one is suffering from an impact-type injury.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.751-758
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• 2016

The modifiable walking pattern generation (MWPG) algorithm can handle dynamic walking commands by changing the walking period, step length, and direction independently. When an infeasible command is given, the algorithm changes the command to a feasible one. After the feasibility of the navigational command is checked, it is translated into the desired center of mass (CM) state. To achieve the desired CM state, a reference CM trajectory is generated using predefined zero moment point (ZMP) functions. Based on the proposed algorithm, various complex walking patterns were generated, including backward and sideways walking. The effectiveness of the patterns was verified in dynamic simulations using the Webots simulator.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.56-64
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• 2009

This paper presents a parallel typed walking robot which can walk in omni-direction and climb from a floor to a wall. We design a six D.O.F leg mechanism composed of three legs, which form a parallel mechanism with a base and a ground to generate arbitrary poses. Optimal design is conducted to maximize the walking space and the dexterity, which are normalized by the stroke of leg. Kinematic parameters are found to maximize the weighted optimal objectives. We design a triple parallel mechanism robot by inserting Stewart platform between the upper leg mechanism and the lower leg mechanism and examine the gaits when the robot walks on the ground and climbs from a floor to a wall. The analysis of walking space and dexterity for each gait shows that the triple parallel walking robot has a large walking space with a large stability region. We explore the possibility that the robot can climb from a floor to a wall. Investigating the gaits for the six steps proves that the robot can lift the foot up to the wall by combining the orientational walking space generated by three parallel mechanisms.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.59-67
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• 2004

Gait is defined as a manner or characteristics of walking. Recently, the study on extracting features of the gait to identify the individual has been progressed actively, within the computer vision community. Even if the camera is fixed, gait features extracted from images are varied according to the direction of walking. In this paper, we propose the method which compensates for the drawback of the gait recognition which is dependant on the direction. First, we search a direction of walking and estimate the planar homography with simple operations. Through synthesizing canonical viewed images by using the estimated homography, viewpoint variation by the direction of walking is compensated. In this paper, we segment gait silhouette into sub-regions and use averaged feature and its variation of each region to recognition experiment. Experimental results show that the proposed method is robust for directional variation of the gait.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.22 no.3_1spc
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• pp.600-606
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• 2013

This paper describes the development of a novel walking assistance robot for the elderly and infirm. In the case of simple walking assistance devices, the walking safety and effectiveness are somewhat low; hence, caregivers are frequently required. The walking assistance robot developed in this research is capable of securely and conveniently assisting a walking user by using electric motors and various devices without a caregiver. The main features include the following. First, the walking safety is improved by using a pelvis supporter, and the robot is able to follow the user effectively by means of ergonomic motion sensors and electric powered wheels. Second, it is possible to adjust the load applied to the lower body by adjusting the height of the pelvis supporter. Finally, it is possible to inform the approximate distance and direction of any obstacle around the robot using the sounds and vibrations for the blind and the hearing impaired. The performance of the developed walking assistance robot was successfully verified using a walking assistance test in a narrow-corridor environment.