• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2021

One of the most challenging issues when robots interact with the environment is to establish contact quickly and avoid high impact force at the same time. The proposed method implements the passive suspension system using the redundancy of the torque-controlled robot. Instead of utilizing the actual mechanical compliance, the distal joints near the end-effector are controlled to act as a virtual spring-damper system with low feedback gains. The proximal joints are precisely controlled to push the mid-link, which is defined as the boundary link between the proximal and distal joints, towards the environment with high feedback gains. Compared to the active compliance methods, the contact force measurements or estimates are not required for contact establishment and the control time delay problems do not occur correspondingly. The proposed method was applied to the landing foot control of the 12-DoF biped robot DYROS-RED in the simulations. In the results, the impact force during landing was significantly reduced at the same collision speed.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2021

Objective: To control the rate at which body weight drops, forefoot initiates floor contact with the limb relatively extended at each joint. However, when the knee joints could not extend enough with going down the stairs, the forefoot cannot be contact initially. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between forefoot and whole foot in initial contract on soleus and tibialis anterior for health young adults when descending stairs. Design: A cross-sectional observational study design. Methods: Fifteen healthy young adults participated in this study. To compare between forefoot and whole foot in initial contact when going down the stairs, this study measured muscle activation on soleus and tibialis anterior. This study used the paired t-test to analyze the collected data and compare the supporting conditions. Results: After analyzing, the muscle activation of soleus was not statistically significant difference as 25.16% at forefoot initial contact and 24.37% at whole foot initial contact when descending stairs (p>0.05). However, the muscle activation of tibialis anterior muscle was significantly difference was 49.19% at forefoot contact and 71.55% at whole foot contact. Conclusions: The results of this study was that the muscle activation of the tibialis anterior was a higher at whole foot contact than that at fore foot contact when descending stairs. This study suggests that the landing strategy of the initial contact is a beneficial effect at the forefoot contact to maintain the postural balance and the muscle performance effectively when descending stairs in individuals with healthy young adults.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.25-29
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to analyze quantitative and qualitative differences according to shoe type for the grand jete landing in ballet. The subjects for this study were 9 female ballet majors with an average of 12 years of experience. Subjects jumped, performing a front split, and landed on 1 foot, a movement called the grand jete. Analysis was performed on the students' landing. Independent variables were 3 shoe types: split sole, traditional out sole, and 5-toed forefoot shoes, with bare feet as a control group. Dependent variables were vertical passive ground reaction force and qualitative elements. Passive ground reaction force variables(maximum passive peak value, number of passive peaks, passive force-time integral, and center of pressure) were measured by the Kistler 9281B Force Platform. Qualitative elements were comfort, cushioning, pain, and fit. Statistical analysis included both 1-way ANOVA and Tukey's test for follow-up. Finalized data demonstrated that the 5-toed forefoot shoe allows the forefoot to expand and the toes to individually press down upon landing, increasing foot contact with the surface. Five-toed forefoot shoes minimize passive peaks and pain, while increasing comfort, cushioning, and fit. Most ballet movements are composed of jumping, balancing, landing, and spinning. Wearing 5-toed forefoot shoes allows for a natural range of movement in each toe, to improve both technique and balance. Pain and injuries from ballet can be minimized by wearing the correct shoe type. According to this analysis, it is possible to customized ballet shoes to increase the efficiency of techniques and movements.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2011

This study aimed to determine the effects of the blockage of visual feedback on joint dynamics of the lower extremity. Fifteen healthy male subjects(age: $24.1{\pm}2.3\;yr$, height: $178.7{\pm}5.2\;cm$, weight: $73.6{\pm}6.6\;kg$) participated in this study. Each subject performed single-legged landing from a 45 cm-platform with the eyes open or closed. During the landing performance, three-dimensional kinematics of the lower extremity and ground reaction force(GRF) were recorded using a 8 infrared camera motion analysis system (Vicon MX-F20, Oxford Metric Ltd, Oxford, UK) with a force platform(ORG-6, AMTI, Watertown, MA). The results showed that at 50 ms prior to foot contact and at the time of foot contact, ankle plantar-flexion angle was smaller(p<.05) but the knee joint valgus and the hip flexion angles were greater with the eyes closed as compared to with the eyes open(p<.05). An increase in anterior GRF was observed during single-legged landing with the eyes closed as compared to with the eyes open(p<.05). Time to peak GRF in the medial, vertical and posterior directions occurred significantly earlier when the eyes were closed as compared to when the eyes were open(p<.05). Landing with the eyes closed resulted in a higher peak vertical loading rate(p<.05). In addition, the shock-absorbing power decreased at the ankle joint(p<.05) but increased at the hip joints when landing with the eyes closed(p<.05). When the eyes were closed, landing could be characterized by a less plantarflexed ankle joint and more flexed hip joint, with a faster time to peak GRF. These results imply that subjects are able to adapt the control of landing to different feedback conditions. Therefore, we suggest that training programs be introduced to reduce these injury risk factors.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.101-108
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• 2010

Recently, core and neuromuscular training(CNT) is emerging as a clinically relevant tool to improve neuromuscular control and to prevent sports injuries. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 12 weeks CNT program on the dynamic stability after drop landing. The subjects attempted drop landing onto the force platform on single foot from a 40 cm height distance. The collected data was used to calculate the dynamic stability index. The Dynamic stability index was derived by measuring the medial-lateral stability index(MLSI), anterior-posterior stability index(APSI), and the vertical stability index(VSI). In comparison to the control group, the MLSI and APSI showed no difference, yet, it resulted in higher VSI. The results of this study suggest that CNT is worthwhile to be considered as a way to improve neuromuscular control and to prevent traumatic injuries. However, the results are taking into consideration to discuss the limitations of CNT and suggested future approaches.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.667-673
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• 2010

This paper proposes a control method based on a pseudo-impedance model to control the motion of biped robots walking on an uneven surface. The pseudo-impedance model simulates the action of the ankle of a foot landing on the ground when a human walks. When the foot is in contact with the ground, the human ankle goes through two different phases. In the first phase, the human exerts little or no effort and applies no torque on the ankle so that the orientation of the foot is effortlessly and passively adjusted with respect to the ground. In the second phase of landing, the ankle generates a significant amount of torque in order to rotate and move the main part of the human body forward and to support the weight of the human; this phase is called the weight acceptance phase. Computer simulations of a 12-DOF biped robot with a 6-DOF environment model were performed to determine the effectiveness of the proposed pseudo-impedance control. The simulation results show that stable locomotion can be achieved on an irregular surface by using the proposed model.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze kinetic variables of lower limbs according to types of ankle taping in drop landing. For this, targeting seven male basketball players (average age: $20.8{\pm}0.74yrs$, average height: $187.4{\pm}3.92cm$, average weight: $79.8{\pm}7.62kg$) with no instability of ankle joints, the drop landing motion was conducted according to three types of inelastic taping (C-type), elastic taping (K-type), and no treatment (N-taping). Based on the result, the next conclusion was reached. First, the effect of taping for the players with stable ankles was minimal and the high load on ankle joints offset the fixing effect of inelastic taping. Thus the inelastic taping for the players with stable ankles did not have an effect on the control of dorsal flexion during one-foot landing. Second, increasing angular velocity by increasing the movable range of knee joints disperses impact forces, yet inelastic taping restricted the range of knee joint motion and at the same time increased angular velocity, adding to a negative effect on knee joints. Third, inelastic taping induced inefficient motion of Lower limbs and unstable impact force control of ankle joints at the moment of landing and produced maximum vertical ground reaction force, which led to an increase of load. Therefore, inelastic ankle taping of players whose jump actions occur very often should be reconsidered. Also, it is thought that this study has a great meaning in proving the problem of inelastic taping related to knee pain with unknown causes.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2004.11c
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• pp.586-588
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• 2004

Although stable control algorithm has been implemented to the biped robot, the stability is not guaranteed because of encoder errors and/or rigid body elastics. Hence precise body pose estimation is required for more natural and long term walk. Specially pelvis sloping by gravity or uneven ground on landing place are most critical reason for undulated motion. In order to overcome these difficulties an estimation system for foot position and orientation using PSD sensors and Gyro sensors is proposed along with calibration algorithm and experimental verification.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.16 no.4 s.97
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• pp.138-147
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• 1999

For autonomous navigation, a legged robot should be able to walk over irregular terrain and adapt itself to variation of supporting surface. Walking through slope is one of the typical tasks for such case. Robot needs not only to change foot trajectory but also to adjust its configuration to the slope angle for maintaining stability against gravity. This paper suggests such adaptation algorithm for stable walking which uses feedback of reaction forces at feet. Adjusting algorithm of foot trajectory was studied with the estimated angel of slope without visual feedback. A concept of virtual slope angle was introduced to adjust body configuration against slope change of the supporting terrain. Regeneration of foot trajectory also used this concept for maintaining its stable walking against unexpected landing point.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.659-667
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• 2011

The study of bipedal robot is towards similar shape and function with human. In this paper, we propose a human-like walking pattern compatible to the flexible foot with toe and heel structure. The new walking pattern for a bipedal robot consists of ZMP, center of mass (CoM), and ankle trajectory and is drawn by considering human kinesiology. First, the ZMP trajectory moves forward without stopping at a point even in the single support phase. The corresponding CoM trajectory to the ZMP one is derived by solving differential equations. As well, a CoM trajectory for the vertical axis is added by following the idea of human motion. The ankle trajectory closely mimics the rotational motion of human ankles during taking off and landing on the ground. The advantages of the proposed walking pattern are demonstrated by showing improved stability, decreased ankle torque, and the longer step length capability. Specifically, it is interesting to know that the vertical CoM motion is able to compensate for the initial transient response.