• Title/Summary/Keyword: Wearable sensors

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Development of an Intelligent Legged Walking Rehabilitation Robot (지능적 족형 보행 재활 보조 로봇의 개발)

  • Kim, Hyun;Kim, Jung-Yup
    • Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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    • v.41 no.9
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    • pp.825-837
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    • 2017
  • This paper describes a novel type of a walking rehabilitation robot that applies robot technologies to crutches used by patients with walking difficulties in the lower body. The primary features of the developed robot are divided into three parts. First, the developed robot is worn on the patient's chest, as opposed to the conventional elbow crutch that is attached to the forearm; hence, it can effectively disperse the patient's weight throughout the width of the chest, and eliminate the concentrated load at the elbow. Furthermore, it allows free arm motion during walking. Second, the developed robot can recognize the walking intention of the patient from the magnitude and direction of the ground reactive forces. This is done using three-axis force sensors attached to the feet of the robot. Third, the robot can perform a stair walking function, which can change vertical movement trajectories in order to step up and down a single stair according to the floor height. Consequently, we experimentally showed that the developed robot can effectively perform walking rehabilitation assistance by perceiving the walking intention of the patient. Moreover we quantitatively verified muscle power assistance by measuring the electromyography (EMG) signals of the muscles of the lower limb.

Maximum Power Point Tracking Method Without Input side Voltage and current Sensor of DC-DC Converter for Thermoelectric Generation (열전발전을 위한 DC-DC Converter의 입력측 전압·전류 센서없는 최대전력점 추적방식)

  • Kim, Tae-Kyung;Park, Dae-Su;Oh, Sung-Chul
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.569-575
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    • 2020
  • Recently, research on renewable energy technologies has come into the spotlight due to rising concerns over the depletion of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. Demand for portable electronic and wearable devices is increasing, and electronic devices are becoming smaller. Energy harvesting is a technology for overcoming limitations such as battery size and usage time. In this paper, the V-I characteristic curve and internal resistance of thermal electric devices were analyzed, and MPPT control methods were compared. The Perturbation and Observation (P&O) control method is economically inefficient because two sensors are required to measure the voltage and current of a Thermoelectric Generator(TEG). Therefore, this paper proposes a new MPPT control method that tracks MPP using only one sensor for the regulation of the output voltage. The proposed MPPT control method uses the relationship between the output voltage of the load and the duty ratio. Control is done by periodically sampling the output voltage of the DC-DC converter to increase or decrease the duty ratio to find the optimal duty ratio and maintain the MPP. A DC-DC converter was designed using a cascaded boost-buck converter, which has a two-switch topology. The proposed MPPT control method was verified by simulations using PSIM, and the results show that a voltage, current, and power of V=4.2 V, I=2.5 A, and P=10.5 W were obtained at the MPP from the V-I characteristic curve of the TEG.

Bio-Sensing Convergence Big Data Computing Architecture (바이오센싱 융합 빅데이터 컴퓨팅 아키텍처)

  • Ko, Myung-Sook;Lee, Tae-Gyu
    • KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.43-50
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    • 2018
  • Biometric information computing is greatly influencing both a computing system and Big-data system based on the bio-information system that combines bio-signal sensors and bio-information processing. Unlike conventional data formats such as text, images, and videos, biometric information is represented by text-based values that give meaning to a bio-signal, important event moments are stored in an image format, a complex data format such as a video format is constructed for data prediction and analysis through time series analysis. Such a complex data structure may be separately requested by text, image, video format depending on characteristics of data required by individual biometric information application services, or may request complex data formats simultaneously depending on the situation. Since previous bio-information processing computing systems depend on conventional computing component, computing structure, and data processing method, they have many inefficiencies in terms of data processing performance, transmission capability, storage efficiency, and system safety. In this study, we propose an improved biosensing converged big data computing architecture to build a platform that supports biometric information processing computing effectively. The proposed architecture effectively supports data storage and transmission efficiency, computing performance, and system stability. And, it can lay the foundation for system implementation and biometric information service optimization optimized for future biometric information computing.

The Usefulness of a Wearable Smart Insole for Gait and Balance Analyses After Surgery for Adult Degenerative Scoliosis: Immediate and Delayed Effects (척추측만증 환자의 수술 효과 평가 수단으로서 웨어러블 스마트 깔창을 이용한 보행분석의 유용성)

  • Seo, Min Seok;Shin, Myung Jun;Kwon, Ae Ran;Park, Tae Sung;Nam, Kyoung Hyup
    • Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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    • v.10 no.2
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    • pp.184-192
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    • 2020
  • This study presents a gait analysis method (including time series analysis) using a smart insole as an objective and quantitative evaluating method after lumbar scoliosis surgery. The participant is a degenerative lumbar scoliosis patient. She took 3-min-gait-test four times(before and 8, 16, and 204-days after surgery) and 6-min-gait-test once(204-days after surgery) with smart-insoles in her shoes. Each insole has 8-pressure sensors, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. The measured values were used to compare the characteristics of gait before and after surgery. The analysis showed that all of the patient's gait parameters improved after surgery. And after 6 months, the gait was more stable. However, after long walk, the swing duration of one leg was slightly shorter than that of the other again. It was a preclinical problem that could not be found in the visual examination by the practitioner. With this analysis method we could evaluate the improvement of patient quantitatively and objectively. And we could find a preclinical problem. This analysis method will lead to the studies that define and distinguish gait patterns of certain diseases, helping to determine appropriate treatments.

A Key Management Technique Based on Topographic Information Considering IoT Information Errors in Cloud Environment (클라우드 환경에서 IoT 정보 오류를 고려한 지형 정보 기반의 키 관리 기법)

  • Jeong, Yoon-Su;Choi, Jeong-hee
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.18 no.10
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    • pp.233-238
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    • 2020
  • In the cloud environment, IoT devices using sensors and wearable devices are being applied in various environments, and technologies that accurately determine the information generated by IoT devices are being actively studied. However, due to limitations in the IoT environment such as power and security, information generated by IoT devices is very weak, so financial damage and human casualties are increasing. To accurately collect and analyze IoT information, this paper proposes a topographic information-based key management technique that considers IoT information errors. The proposed technique allows IoT layout errors and groups topographic information into groups of dogs in order to secure connectivity of IoT devices in the event of arbitrary deployment of IoT devices in the cloud environment. In particular, each grouped terrain information is assigned random selected keys from the entire key pool, and the key of the terrain information contained in the IoT information and the probability-high key values are secured with the connectivity of the IoT device. In particular, the proposed technique can reduce information errors about IoT devices because the key of IoT terrain information is extracted by seed using probabilistic deep learning.

Design of a Low Noise 6-Axis Inertial Sensor IC for Mobile Devices (모바일용 저잡음 6축 관성센서 IC의 설계)

  • Kim, Chang Hyun;Chung, Jong-Moon
    • The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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    • v.40 no.2
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    • pp.397-407
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    • 2015
  • In this paper, we designed 1 chip IC for 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer used for various IoT/M2M mobile devices such as smartphone, wearable device and etc. We especially focused on analysis of gyroscope noise and proposed new architecture for removing various noise generated by gyroscope MEMS and IC. Gyroscope, accelerometer and geo-magnetic sensors are usually used to detect user motion or to estimate moving distance, direction and relative position. It is very important element to designing a low noise IC because very small amount of noise may be accumulated and affect the estimated position or direction. We made a mathematical model of a gyroscope sensor, analyzed the frequency characteristics of MEMS and circuit, designed a low noise, compact and low power 1 chip 6-axis inertial sensor IC including 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer. As a result, designed IC has 0.01dps/${\sqrt{Hz}}$ of gyroscope sensor noise density.

A Secure and Lightweight Authentication Scheme for Ambient Assisted Living Systems (전천 후 생활보조 시스템을 위한 안전하고 경량화 된 인증기법)

  • Yi, Myung-Kyu;Choi, Hyunchul;Whangbo, Taeg-Keun
    • The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.77-83
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    • 2019
  • With the increase in population, the number of such senior citizens is increasing day by day. These senior citizens have a variety of care needs, but there are not enough health workers to look after them. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) aims at ensuring the safety and health quality of the older adults and extending the number of years the senior citizens can live independently in an environment of their own preference. AAL provides a system comprising of smart devices, medical sensors, wireless networks, computer and software applications for healthcare monitoring. AAL can be used for various purposes like preventing, curing, and improving wellness and health conditions of older adults. While information security and privacy are critical to providing assurance that users of AAL systems are protected, few studies take into account this feature. In this paper, we propose a secure and lightweight authentication scheme for the AAL systems. The proposed authentication scheme not only supports several important security requirements needed by the AAL systems, but can also withstand various types of attacks. Also, the security analysis results are presented to show the proposed authentication scheme is more secure and efficient rather than existing authentication schemes.

Assessment of Validity and Reliability of Plantar Pressure in Smart Insole (스마트 인솔의 족저압 측정 결과에 대한 타당도 및 신뢰도 평가)

  • Kang, Ho Won;An, Yae Lynn;Kim, Dae-Yoo;Lee, Dong-Oh;Park, Gil Young;Lee, Dong Yeon
    • Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.130-135
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    • 2022
  • Purpose: Smart insoles are wearable devices that are inserted into shoes. Smart insoles with built-in pressure and acceleration sensors can measure the plantar pressure, stride length, and walking speed. This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the plantar pressure measurements of smart insoles during walking on flat ground. Materials and Methods: Twenty one subjects were included in this study. After wearing smart insoles, I-SOL® (Gilon, Seongnam, Korea), the subjects walked a 10 m corridor six times at a rate of 100 steps/min, and the middle three steps, free from direction changes, were chosen for data analysis. The same protocol was repeated after wearing Pedar-X (Novel Corporation, Munich, Germany), an insoletype plantar pressure measurement equipment with proven validity. The average maximum pressure (Ppeak, kPa) and the time at which Ppeak appeared (Ptime, %stride) were calculated for each device. The validity of smart insoles was evaluated by using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of Ppeak and Ptime between the two instruments, and Cronbach's alpha was obtained from the Ppeak values to evaluate the reliability. Results: The ICC of Ppeak was 0.651 (good) in the hallux, 0.744 (good) in the medial forefoot, 0.839 (excellent) in the lateral forefoot, and 0.854 (excellent) in the hindfoot. The ICC of Ptime showed 0.868 (excellent) in the hallux, 0.892 (excellent) in the medial forefoot, 0.721 (good) in the lateral forefoot, and 0.832 (excellent) in the hindfoot. All ICC values showed good or excellent results. The Cronbach's alpha of Ppeak measured in the smart insoles was 0.990 in the hallux, 0.961 in the medial forefoot, 0.973 in the lateral forefoot, and 0.995 in the hindfoot; all indicated excellent reliability in all areas. Conclusion: The plantar pressure measurements of smart insoles during walking on a flat ground showed validity compared to Pedar-X, and high reliability after repeated measurements.