• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.427-433
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• 2013

Stair climbing is one of critical issues for field robots to widen applicable areas. This paper presents optimal design on kinematic parameters of a new robotic platform for stair climbing. The robotic platform climbs various stairs by body-flip locomotion with caterpillar type main platform. Kinematic parameters such as platform length, platform height, and caterpillar rotation speed are optimized to maximize stair-climbing stability. Three types of stairs are used to simulate typical user conditions. The optimal design process is conducted based on Taguchi methodology, and resulting parameters with optimized objective function are presented. In near future, a prototype is assembled for real environment testing.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.789-795
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• 2010

For the reliable clamping of a robotic colonoscope inside the colon, we propose a clamping module consisting of six legs at the front and a trigger at the rear. In addition, a pneumatic-line based locomotive mechanism, which was developed previously for in-pipe inspection, is adopted to reduce the friction force between the pneumatic lines and the locomotion environment. In order to evaluate locomotion performance, a robot with a diameter of 15 mm and a length of 110.250 mm is used. Based on control signal from LabVIEW, it is tested in acrylic pipe and pig's colon. The proposed robot is able to move in the curved path which has a radius of over 25 mm. The speed of the robot is 33 mm/s in a straight path and 12.1 mm/s on a vertical path. The proposed robot, which has one pneumatic line and two clamping modules, conclusively shows reliable locomotion performance under in vitro condition.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1067-1072
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• 2014

The ability to overcome obstacles is necessary for field robots for various applications including the ability to climb stairs. While much research has been performed focusing on overcoming obstacles, the resulting robots do not have sufficient ability to overcome obstacles such as stairs. In this research, the purpose is to overcome relatively large obstacles by flipping locomotion through the modification of the stair climbing robotic platform of the previous research. We propose two scenarios to overcome large obstacles: a rear wheel driving system and an elevation system using a ball screw. The research is performed based on static analyses on obstacle-climbing. As the simulation results indicate, we determined the optimal posture of the robot for climbing obstacles for rear wheel driving. Also, an elevation system is analyzed for obstacle climbing. Between the two scenarios an elevation system is determined to reduce the operating torque of the actuator, and the prototype was recently assembled. The climbing ability of the robotic platform is verified. We expect the application area for this robotic platform will be in accident areas of nuclear power plants.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.123-130
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• 2021

PURPOSE: Robotic gait training is being used increasingly to improve the gross motor performance and gait speed. The present study examined the effectiveness of a novel end-effector type of robotic gait training (RGT) system on standing, walking, running, and jumping functions, as well as the gait speed in children with spastic cerebral palsy. METHODS: Eleven children with spastic cerebral palsy Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I-III (6 males; age range, 15.09 ± 1.44 years) were examined. They underwent 24 sessions (30 minutes/sessions, one time/day, three days/week for eight consecutive weeks) of RGT. The Gross Motor Function Measure-88 D domain (GMFM D), and GMFM E were assessed with a pretest and posttest of RGT. The setting was a one-group pretest-posttest design. RESULTS: A comparison of the pre-test and post-test show that the outcomes in post-test of GMFM D (p < .01), GMFM E (p < .05), and 10MWT were improved significantly after RGT intervention. CONCLUSION: The present study provided the first evidence on the effects of an eight-weeks RGT intervention in participants with spastic CP. The outcomes of this clinical study showed that standing performance, locomotion function, and gait speed increased in after 24 sessions of the end-effector RGT system in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.309-315
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• 2015

This paper presents a lower-limb exoskeleton testbed and its control method. An exoskeleton is a wearable robotic system that can enhance wearer's muscle power or assist human's movements. Among a variety of its applications, especially for military purpose, a wearable robot can be very useful for carrying heavy loads during locomotion by augmenting soldiers' mobility and endurance. The locomotion test on a treadmill was performed up to maximum 4km/h walking speed wearing the lower-limb exoskeleton testbed with a 45kg backpack load.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.317-326
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• 2007

Recently, robotic automation in clinical laboratory becomes of keen interest as a fusion of bio and robotic technology. In this paper, we present a new robotic platform for clinical tests suitable for small or medium sized laboratories using mobile robots. The mobile robot called Mobile Agent is designed as transfer system of blood samples, reagents, microplates, and any instruments. Also, the developed mobile agent can perform diverse tests simultaneously based on its cooperative and distributed ability. The driving circuits for the mobile agent are embedded in the robot, and each mobile agent communicates with other agents by using Bluetooth communication. The RFID system is used to recognize patient information. Also, the magnetic hall sensor is embedded to remove and compensate the cumulated error of locomotion at the bottom of mobile agent. The proposed mobile agent can be easily used for various applications because it is designed to be compatible with general software development tools. The Mobile agents are manufactured, and feasibility of the robot and localization of the agents using magnetic hall sensor are validated by preliminary experiments.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1438-1445
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• 2002

For robotic endoscope, some researchers suggest pneumatic actuators based on inchworm motion. But, the existing endoscopes have not been replaced completely because human intestine is very sensitive and susceptible to damage. We design and test a new locomotion of robotic endoscope that allows safe maneuverability in the human intestine. The actuating mechanism is composed of two solenoids at each side and a single permanent magnet. When the current direction is reversed, repulsive force and attractive at the opposition side propels permanent magnet. Impact force against robotic endoscope transfers momentum from moving magnet to endoscope capsule. The direction and moving speed of the actuator can be controlled by adjustment of impact force. Modeling and simulation experiments are carried out to predict the performance of the actuator. Simulations show that force profile of permanent magnet is the dominant factor for the characteristic of the actuator. The results of simulations are verified by comparing with the experimental results.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.521-526
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• 2016

This paper suggests a new design that makes use of rotary inertia that can allow autonomous movement of an autonomous colonoscope robot in the colon of a patient as a locomotive mechanism. As commercial colonoscopy causes a lengthy time of pain and discomfort to the patients when colonoscopy patients are reluctant to receive surgery, there is a tendency to avoid the test in the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. To solve this problem, research has been conducted on the next generation of robotic colonoscopes that can reduce the discomfort and pain by moving autonomously within the colon of the patients. In the driving mechanism utilizing the rotational inertia, a flywheel is driven by a motor to store energy and produce rotational inertia. By the energy stored and released by the flywheel, the stick phenomenon that occurs when the robot is running in the intestine can be overcome effectively. To do this, a controller that can control the velocity of the flywheel and is robust to high frequency noise was designed and implemented. The driving mechanism using the rotational inertia presented here showed that the structure is also effective and the experiment can be run easily compared to another mechanism.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.413-422
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• 2012

In recent years, a number of missions have been planned and conducted worldwide on the planets such as Mars, which involves the unmanned robotic exploration with the use of rover. The rover is an important system for unmanned planetary exploration, performing the locomotion and sample collection and analysis at the exploration target of the planetary surface designated by the operator. This study investigates the development of mobility system for the rover ground model necessary to the planetary surface exploration for the benefit of future planetary exploration mission in Korea. First, the requirements for the rover mobility system are summarized and a new mechanism is proposed for a stable performance on rough terrain which consists of the passive suspension system with 8 wheeled double 4-bar linkage (DFBL), followed by the performance evaluation for the mechanism of the mobility system based on the shape design and simulation. The proposed mobility system DFBL was compared with the Rocker-Bogie suspension system of US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration and 8 wheeled mobility system CRAB8 developed in Switzerland, using the simulation to demonstrate the superiority with respect to the stability of locomotion. On the basis of the simulation results, a general system configuration was proposed and designed for the rover manufacture.

• Advances in robotics research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.101-126
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• 2014

In this article we present modular neural control for a leg-wheel hybrid robot consisting of three legs with omnidirectional wheels. This neural control has four main modules having their functional origin in biological neural systems. A minimal recurrent control (MRC) module is for sensory signal processing and state memorization. Its outputs drive two front wheels while the rear wheel is controlled through a velocity regulating network (VRN) module. In parallel, a neural oscillator network module serves as a central pattern generator (CPG) controls leg movements for sidestepping. Stepping directions are achieved by a phase switching network (PSN) module. The combination of these modules generates various locomotion patterns and a reactive obstacle avoidance behavior. The behavior is driven by sensor inputs, to which additional neural preprocessing networks are applied. The complete neural circuitry is developed and tested using a physics simulation environment. This study verifies that the neural modules can serve a general purpose regardless of the robot's specific embodiment. We also believe that our neural modules can be important components for locomotion generation in other complex robotic systems or they can serve as useful modules for other module-based neural control applications.