• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.373-380
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of balance training on gait stability. The study population included 17 male high school students who were divided into 3 groups, each of which underwent one of the following types of balance-training programs for 8 weeks: 1 foot standing on cushion foam, trunk muscle training, and inverted body position training. 0, 4, and 8 weeks, the following experiment was performed: The participants were asked to close their eyes and take 17 steps; the stability of forward and sideward movement was determined, and the direction linearity was measured. The results revealed that all the training programs caused a decrease in stride deviation and an increase in the and the stride length, thereby improving the stability of forward movement. All the programs decreased the variation in step width and were thus also effective in improving the stability of sideward movement. The inverted body position training program was considered very effective because the cross point appeared on post hoc graphic analysis after 4 weeks, and the deviation length for 10 m was low, i.e., below 4 cm. All the programs were effective with respect to direction linearity because they decreased the deviation in direction widths. The results indicate that whole-body neurocontrol training is more effective than simple muscle training and local focused balance training, although this neurocontrol training-in the form of inverted body position training-required a longer training period than did the other programs.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of aquatic walking exercise on gait and balance parameters of elderly women. Method: 15 elderly people were recruited for this study (age: 73.20±5.19 yrs, height: 153.87±3.36 cm, mass: 60.33±5.73 kg). All variables were measured using Gaitview AFA-50. The variables were the heel contact time ratio, gait angle, and M/P change ratio for gait patterns and ENV, REC, RMS, Total Length, TLC, Sway velocity, and Length/ENV for balance abilities. A paired t-test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were carried out to verify the differences in the test scores after participating in the water walking program. The significance level for all statistical analyses was set to α=.05. Results: As for the changes in their walking function after the exercise, heel contact time ratio (p<.01) showed a statistical significance, while gait angle and M/P change ratio did not reveal statistically significant differences. In the test of balance ability on both feet and with eyes opened, statistical significance was found in ENV, REC, RMS, TLC (p<.01), and sway velocity (p<.05), while the test with eyes closed showed statistical significance in length/ENV as well as ENV, REC, RMS, sway velocity (p<.01) TLC, and total length (p<.05). As for the single-leg stance balance ability, ENV and REC revealed statistically significant differences. Conclusion: These results show that water walking is effective for improving the function of the ankle flexor muscles, providing stability to the ankle joint during walking and helping efficient walk. In addition, it is also expected to help prevent falls due to loss of balance by improving the stability of lower extremity muscles and trunk.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.617-623
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• 2012

In this paper, we propose a gait generation method for a quadruped robot to walk efficiently on the slope, which uses the waist joint of a quadruped robot. We derive the kinematic model of a quadruped robot with waist joint using the Denavit-Hartenberg representation method and the algebraic method. In addition, the gaits are generated based on the wave gait. In the proposed gait generation method, first in order to alleviate the mechanical restriction and the reduction of the stride, we determine the appropriate waist joint angle according to the slope degree, and then decide the location of the tiptoe of a quadruped robot by exploring the workspace. Finally, through computer simulations, we verify the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.843-848
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• 2007

Quadruped robot is very useful mechanism for a various area. Recently, home entertainment and military robots adapted quadruped platform and useful function have been introduced. Our goal is the development of quadruped robot locomotion for any type of ground included to sloping one and irregular terrain. This paper, as a first step, deals with design and construction of quadruped robot walking on the flat ground. The most important factor of quadruped robot is stability of locomotion. At first, we introduce the developed quadruped robot based on dynamic simulation and experimental study of general gait algorithm. Finally, propose unique locomotion proper to our mechanism. Future work of this study is the performance test and analysis on the ground of various conditions and proposes the improved mechanism and gait algorithm.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.332-342
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• 2024

Objective: With the proportion of the elderly population in Korea reaching 17.5% in 2022 and projected to increase to 20.6% by 2025, 30.1% by 2035, and 43% by 2050, the accelerated aging of the population is raising societal concerns about elderly care. Maintaining mobility is crucial for a healthy and independent old age. Design: Cross-sectional study Methods: This study investigates the effects of dual-task performance on gait variables and cognitive function in older adults. This cross-sectional study involved 60 older adults aged 65 and above, categorized into a dementia group (Korean version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) score ≤ 22) and a control group (MoCA-K score ≥ 23). Cognitive and gait functions were assessed using the GAITRite system (GAITRite system, CIR Systems Inc., USA), measuring gait variables (speed, stride length, etc.) before and after dual-task performance. The assessments were conducted under a single-blind condition, and data were analyzed using SPSS (ver. 25.0, SPSS Inc., USA). Results: The dementia group scored lower on cognitive assessments compared to the control group (p<0.05). In dual-task performance evaluations, the dementia group exhibited longer total task times and lower accuracy than the control group (p<0.001), while reaction times were longer but not statistically significant. GAITRite system analysis revealed that the dementia group had reduced gait speed and stride length compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, the difference in gait time was not statistically significant. The study results indicate that older adults with dementia show significant differences in cognitive function and gait performance, with notable impacts under dual-task conditions. Conclusions: These findings underscore the effect of cognitive decline on gait and provide valuable insights for predicting gait and cognitive function deterioration in dementia, which can aid in developing fall prevention strategies.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.30 no.2 s.245
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• pp.194-201
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• 2006

Gait analysis is essential to identify accurate cause and knee condition from patients who display abnormal walking. Traditional linear tools can, however, mask the true structure of motor variability, since biomechanical data from a few strides during the gait have limitation to understanding the system. Therefore, it is necessary to propose a more precise dynamic method. The chaos analysis, a nonlinear technique, focuses on understand how variations in the gait pattern change over time. Eight healthy eight subjects walked on a treadmill for 100 seconds at 60 Hz. Three dimensional walking kinematic data were obtained using two cameras and KWON3D motion analyzer. The largest Lyapunov exponent from the measured knee angular displacement time series was calculated to quantify local stability. This study quantified the variability present in time series generated from gait parameter via chaos analysis. Knee flexion-extension patterns were found to be chaotic. The proposed Lyapunov exponent can be used in rehabilitation and diagnosis of recoverable patients.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.131-142
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• 2005

This study was investigated the stability of the AK amputee gait through analysing the variability on kinematic variables between the sound leg and the prosthetic limb. The one male, AK amputee who could walk for himself with his prosthetic limb was participated in this study. Six cameras of the MCU 240 and the QTM(Qualisys Track Manager) software were used for data collecting in this study. The relative angle of both segments was the difference between the absolute angle of the distal segment and the absolute angle of the proximal segment. The coupling angles between the prosthetic limb and the sound leg were caculated on the thigh Flexion/Extension in relative to the shank Flexion/Extension and the shank Flexion/Extension n relative to the foot Flexion/Extension. In order to evaluate the variability of segment and joint angle, C.V. was used, and to evaluate the variability for coupling angles, the Relative motion calculated by vector coding method of the continuous methods was used. As stated, the gait pattern of the prosthetic limb was almost similar gait pattern of the sound leg, but the prosthetic limb showed that the gait pattern of the sound leg and the prosthetic limb were not stable against the sound leg.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.365-372
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• 2010

The purpose of this study were to analyze the changes in kinematic and kinetic parameters and to find biomechanical benefits of Nordic Walking and normal gait performed under the same velocity. Nine participants(age: $26.73{\pm}3.28$ year, height: $182.45{\pm}4.62\;cm$, weight: $76.59{\pm}6.84\;kg$) was chosen. The velocity of gait was set by 5.75 km/h which was made by a Nordic Walking professional. The data were collected by using VICON with 8 cameras to analyze kinematic variables with 200 Hz and force platform to analyze kinetic variables with 2000 Hz. The results of this study were as follows. First, when compared with Normal gait, Nordic Walking group showed decreased Plantarflexion angle and ROM. Second, Nordic Walking group showed decreased knee flexion angle and ROM. Third, Nordic Walking group showed increased hip joint movement. Fourth, Nordic Walking group showed higher active GRF but decreased loading rate from delayed Peak Vertical GRF time and increased impulse. Fifth, Nordic Walking group showed longer ground contact time. Through this study, we found that Nordic Walking showed higher stability and efficiency during gait than normal gait and that Nordic Walking may help people who have walking difficulties.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.9 no.11
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• pp.943-951
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• 2003

A strategy for fault-tolerant gaits of autonomous legged robots is proposed. A legged robot is considered to be fault tolerant with respect to a given failure if it is guaranteed to be capable of walking maintaining its static stability after the occurrence of the failure. The failure concerned in this paper is a locked joint failure for which a joint in a leg cannot move and is locked in place. If a failed joint is locked, the workspace of the resulting leg is constrained, but legged robots have fault tolerance capability to continue static walking. An algorithm for generating fault-tolerant gaits is described and, especially, periodic gaits are presented for forward walking of a hexapod robot with a locked joint failure. The leg sequence and the formula of the stride length are analytically driven based on gait study and robot kinematics. The transition procedure from a normal gait to the proposed fault-tolerant gait is shown to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed scheme.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.2529-2534
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• 2003

A quadruped walking robot has a superior adaptablility as well as highly adaptable mobility in various environments. These special advantages are outstanding in the mobile robot group. In this work, we introduce the method for omni-directional gait and rotational gait which is the generalized control algorithm to perform any direction commands. In addition, to improve the stability of quadruped walking robot, we performed the optimization between walking angle and sequence of feet. The proposed ideas are applied to the actual design of MRWALLSPECT III(Multifunctional Robot for Wall inSpection version 3) that is designed to inspect of the large surface of industrial utilities. By implementing the proposed idea on the robot, it’s effectiveness is experimentally confirmed.