• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.261-271
• /
• 2013

This study aimed to identify professional climbers'demand for movement functionality in pants worn for rock climbing and ice climbing. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 professional climbers using a semi-constructed questionnaire. The respondents were instructor-level experts whose climbing ability ranged from 5.9 to 5.14 on the Yosemite Decimal System rating scale. The research findings were as follows. Experts wore different climbing pants depending on the type of climbing. For example, they mostly wore high-stretch, second layer pants for rock climbing, while layering first layer, second layer, and third layer pants for ice climbing. There were gender differences regarding the parts of the body in which climbers reported the most discomfort when wearing climbing pants; male climbers most commonly responded 'knees', 'inner thighs' and 'hips' while their female counterparts most commonly responded 'inner thighs', 'exposed back and waist' and 'hips' in that order. Differences were found between rock climbing and ice climbing in terms of wear and tear on pants, preferred fabric properties, and length of pants. Wear and tear was found mainly on the hips and knees of rock climbing pants and on the inner lower hem of ice climbing pants. Listed in the order of preference, the most preferred fabric properties were elasticity, light weight, and durability for rock climbing pants and elasticity, insulation, and protection against water and wind for ice climbing pants. Regarding the length of rock climbing pants, respondents preferred ankle-length pants and cropped pants that did not cover the feet. For ice climbing pants, respondents favored heel-length pants that prevented pieces of ice from entering the clothing. Men showed a high level of preference for ergonomically cut climbing pants. Respondents said the waistband on climbing pants should be simplified so as not to adversely affect climbing maneuvers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.565-576
• /
• 2013

This study investigated 1) the effects of mountain climbing motivation on the desired mountain climbing wear benefits, and 2) the desired effects of mountain climbing wear benefits on clothing usage behavior. Data were collected via a questionnaire administered to 498 consumers who make at least one mountain climbing wear purchase for personal use. All items were evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale, and SPSS 20.0 and Amos 7.0 were used for data analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis for the research variables were performed and three factors of mountain climbing motivation (social interaction, health improvement, and mental rejuvenation), four factors of mountain climbing wear benefits sought (ostentation, ideal healthy figure, conformity, and functions), and two factors regarding clothing usage behavior (sportswear usage and daily wear usage) were identified. The results from the model test were as follows: 1) Mountain climbing motivation was found to vary depending on the mountain climbing wear benefits sought. Social interaction had a positive effect on all 4 factors of mountain climbing wear benefits sought. Health improvement was the only motivating factor for consumers who sought the benefit of functions; however, the functions benefit was not found to be a consideration for consumers who climbed for mental rejuvenation. 2) Mountain climbing wear usage was affected by mountain climbing wear benefits sought. The benefits for conformity and functions had a positive effect on sportswear usage and daily wear usage; however, the ideal healthy figure only affected daily wear usage. The twofold usage of mountain climbing wear reflects a cultural trend toward the usage of mountain climbing wear as daily wear; however, consumers show this twofold usage to conform successfully to mainstream society and not to pursue the ideal healthy figure.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.391-404
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to identify the consumers' demands on functional design of sports climbing pants. Data were collected through a field survey. 82 male and 70 female amateur sports climbers in Seoul participated. The questionnaires measured aspects of functional design in sports climbing pants, specifically motion adaptability, comfort and aesthetic value of the climbing pants. The results of this study show that comfort during climbing postures was the most important value of the climbing pants. The subjects sought motion adaptability at the hip, crotch, thigh and knee. The preferred style and degree of fit of climbing pants were differed according to gender. Men preferred loose or semi tight fit style climbing pants but women preferred the leggings style of the sport pants. The soft touch seam line and body shaping function were also important for women. The type of pants preferred for sports climbing also differed by the climbing experience period. Men began to wear the outdoor mountaineering style pants when they had experienced sports climbing for 6 months and to wear the climbing expert style pants when they had experienced sports climbing for a year. Most women wore leggings style sports pants from the beginner stage. This study also analyzed Korean market trend in 2016~2017 F/W for sports climbing pants design. The men's pants were more likely to be designed to improve mobility compared to the women's pants, even though the aesthetic value of the sports climbing pants was important for women.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.99-109
• /
• 2014

PURPOSES : Climbing lanes on expressways managed by the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) have been hot potatoes due to conflicts between slow-moving vehicles such as trucks and other vehicles at the merging section as well as the less popularity with the slow-moving vehicles. In order to resolve such problems, KEC has altered existing climbing lanes to passing-type climbing lanes in 1999. The new type of climbing lanes showed an apparent improvement in mobility. For example, the speeds of vehicles using both climbing lane and other lanes improved a lot. However, there has been no clear evidence about improved safety. METHODS : This research effort was initiated to evaluate the safety of the new passing-type climbing lanes using the comparison-group(CG) method based on three-year-long traffic accident data sets before and after the change, respectively. RESULTS : The passing-type climbing lanes showed twice increased traffic accidents even though the traffic accidents on old type climbing lanes increased 1.1% during the same periods. In addition, in-depth study, the merging area of the passing-type climbing lanes was found out to be the weakest section where 43.8% traffic accidents out of total traffic accidents happened. It is noted that the merging area of the old type climbing showed only 25.0% traffic accidents. CONCLUSIONS : The new passing-type climbing lanes were found to be weak in terms of safety when compared with the old type climbing lanes. Especially, the merging area should be improved to reduce the risk of traffic conflicts between slow-moving vehicles and other vehicles.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.167-173
• /
• 2020

A lot of research has been done on pipe climbing robots to investigate the aging pipe structures of nuclear power plants and petrochemical plants. Nevertheless, most of the research on pipe climbing robots focused on the structural design and foundational motion control of pipe climbing robots. So, For the operator to control the pipe climbing robot, it has many difficulties to climb the pipe and avoid obstacles by manual operation. In this paper, propose an algorithm that recognizes obstacle by using camera images of pipe climbing robots, estimates the distance between pipe climbing robots and obstacles, and determines the position where pipe climbing robots can catch pipes to avoid obstacles between pipes.

• International Journal of Safety
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.47-53
• /
• 2010

The speed difference in mountainous area is known causing traffic conflicts and accidents. Thus, climbing lanes have popularly been installed in mountainous roads around the world. In the present paper, vehicle speeds within and around climbing lanes of Ho-nam and Jung-ang expressway were collected and evaluated. The evaluation was performed in terms of coefficient of variations which represent dispersion of vehicle speed in climbing lanes. Results show that speed dispersion is more significant at segments before and after climbing lanes than those within climbing lanes. The estimated accident risk was evaluated using The Solomon's u-shaped curve. It was identified that the accident risk is also a lot significant at the same segments as much as 2.2 times greater than those of climbing lanes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.90-100
• /
• 2013

This study uses a survey questionnaire to identify the major customer age class of adult women who frequently mountain climb as well as analyze their purchasing behavior and preference of mountain climbing pants. The field survey, classified the types of mountain climbing pants, selected the types of mountain climbing pants that consumers preferred, and then analyzed the degrees of satisfaction for mountain climbing pants based on an evaluation of wearing. Specifically, the patterns of mountain climbing pants preferred by national brands and licensed brands were compared and analyzed. The validities of commercially available mountain climbing pants were analyzed through an evaluation of wearing comfort and an evaluation of wearing on a 3D simulation of the human body. The basic data for the development of mountain climbing pants are presented based on the results. The survey questionnaire results indicate that the major class of women consumers of mountain climbing goods was in the 40s to 50s; in addition, the types they most wore were straight type and functional cut type. The preferred brand was KOLONSPORT (which occupies a 21.2% market share), followed by THE NORTH FACE (13.0%), K2 (11.5%) and Kolping (10.0%). The main reason (26.8% of responses) that they preferred these brands was functionality. The difference in measurement of climbing pants patterns could be analyzed accurately in the pattern analysis, the wearing evaluation by the self-sonsory test and evaluation of wearing comfort through 3D simulation. The results of ANOVA on motions and items indicates that no significant difference was found among motions; however, a significant difference was recognized among items. A comparison of straight type and functional cut type showed that the functional cut type excelled slightly in wearing comfort.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.114-123
• /
• 2017

This paper introduces a novel obstacle-climbing robot that moves on the facade of buildings and its climbing mechanism. A winch system set on the top of the building makes the vertical motion of the robot while it climbs obstacles that protrude from the wall surface. The obstacle-climbing robot suggested in this research is composed of a main platform and three modular climbing units. Various sensors installed on each climbing unit detect the obstacles, and the robot controller coordinates the three units and the winch to climb the obstacles using the obstacle-climbing mechanism. To evaluate the performance of the developed robot prototype, a test bed, which consists of an artificial wall and an obstacle, was manufactured. The obstacle size and the time required to climb the obstacle were selected as the performance indices, and extensive experiments were carried out. As a result, it was confirmed that the obstacle-climbing robot can climb various-sized obstacles with a reasonable speed while it moves on the wall surface.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.585-598
• /
• 2017

Sports climbing requires more maximum body motion range than any other sport. This study examined what element affects the actions of sports climbers and suggest an ideal pattern archetype to maximize function based on motion. The theoretical background included abstracted elements influencing clothing design by researching the body type of sports climbers and the motion of sports climbing. Along with the characteristic of climbing wear, this study also conducted a comparative analysis of sleeve patterns for sports climbing wear and general sports jackets, abstracting comparative parts that influence sports climbing wear design. To develop the final research archetype, research was done on 107 sports climbers in their 20s-30s that selected the top 3 brands and collected patterns as well. A research archetype was selected based on 3-D virtual clothing and developed into 4 different patterns with different sleeve cap heights. Appearance evaluation and a motion functionality evaluation were then conducted in order to select a final research archetype adequate for sports climbing based on evaluation findings. In addition, this study identified aesthetical problems of the final research archetype produced based on functionality that could suggest an archetype for a climbing jacket that could be visually satisfying through appearance evaluations and motion functionality evaluations.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.198-208
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the demand for functional elements of sports climbing shirts. Questionnaire survey data were collected from adult (n=53) and adolescent (n=55) sports climbers. The questionnaire explored respondents' sports climbing activities and need for functional design features of sports climbing shirts. Their design preferences and purchasing value were also investigated. The results showed that respondents regarded ergonomic design and the use of intelligent material as important elements of expert-level sports climbing shirts. Compared to adolescent, adult respondents were more susceptive to functional design elements such as suitability for climbing motions and ease of dressing or undressing. Also, adult sports climbers were more likely than adolescents to prefer shirts that are tightly fit at the chest. Neither adults nor adolescents favored shirts design that is tightly fit at the neck or armpit. The regular shirts length not covering hips and sleeve length ending at the wrist were preferred. The collar stand should not hit the chin. Adult climbers preferred ergonomically designed sleeves on the back shoulder. Adults and adolescents had different preferences for the front neck zipper length. Adults preferred long front zipper length at chest. These findings suggest that sports climbing shirts should have functional features to prevent interference with climbing movements and improve convenience and stability.