• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.390-405
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• 2021

Gait analysis trackers have been developed to monitor daily gait patterns to improve users' running performance and reduce the risk of injuries. A variety of gait analysis trackers are available on the market(e.g., foot pods, insoles). Depending on the type of gait analysis tracker, users' discomfort or satisfaction as well as required properties may differ. Hence, the purpose of this study was to compare and analyze user experience of three different types of commercial shoe-mounted gait analysis trackers and their mobile applications in a laboratory environment using questionnaires based on actual experiences of each product. Ten males and ten females who regularly enjoy walking and running exercises participated in the experiment. After the participants set up the tracker and application themselves without support from researchers, ten to thirty minutes' exercise was permitted on each product. Following this, the participants answered questionnaires containing evaluation variables on the device and mobile application, as well as satisfaction, intention to use, recommendation, and purchase. In addition, they were asked questions about the attractive features and shortcomings of each device and application. The results showed that the PRO-SPECS^® smart insole was preferred over the others for ease of use, perceived durability, psychological burden of the design, and usefulness of the information provided by the application. Along with the results of questionnaire, this study also discussed strategies and recommendations for future product design and development.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1709-1712
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• 2008

The trunk is inclined to the loaded side when carrying an object as one of activities of daily living. As the reaction to this behavior the human body may be inclined to his/her trunk to unloaded side. The present study investigated the biomechanical effects of weight variation for sided load carriage during walking upon joint moments and muscle torques, through the tracker agent and joint driving dynamic analysis. To perform the experiment one male was selected as subject for the study. Gait analysis was performed by using a 3D motion analysis system. Thirty nine 14mm reflective markers, according to the plug-in marker set, were attached to the subject. We used BRG.LifeMOD(Biomechanics Research Group, Inc., USA), for skeletal modeling and inverse and joint driving dynamic simulation during one gait cycle. In walking with a sided load carriage, the subject modeled held the carriage with the right hand, which weighed 0, 5, 10, 15kg, 20kg respectively. The result of this simulation showed that knee and hip in the coronal plane were inclined to the loaded side and loaded side had larger moments as the sided load carriage was increased. On the other hand thoracic and lumbar in the coronal plane had larger negative values as the sided loaded carriage was increased. The thoracic and lumbar in the transverse plane also had larger values as the sided load was increased. And the several muscles of loaded side were increased as increasing sided load. It could be concluded that human body is adopted to side loaded circumstances by showing more biologic force. These results could be very useful in analysis for delivery motion of daily life.

• 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.