• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.654-661
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• 2015

Stairs are the most popular obstacles in buildings and factories. To enlarge the application areas of a field robotic platform, stair-climbing is very important mission. One important reason why a stair-climbing is difficult is that stairs are various in sizes. To achieve autonomous climbing of various-sized stairs, dynamic modeling is essential. In this research, an inverse dynamic modeling is performed to enable an autonomous stair climbing. Stair-climbing robotic platform with flip locomotion, named FilpBot, is analyzed. The FlipBot platform has advantages of robust stair-climbing of various sizes with constant speed, but the autonomous operation is not yet capable. Based on external constraints and the postures of the robot, inverse dynamic models are derived. The models are switched by the constraints and postures to analyze the continuous motion during stair-climbing. The constraints are changed according to the stair size, therefore the analysis results are different each other. The results of the inverse dynamic modeling are going to be used in motor design and autonomous control of the robotic platform.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.134-138
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• 2018

Objective: The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of functional electrical stimulation (FES) applied to the gluteus medius (Gm) and tibialis anterior (TA) during stair climbing in persons with stroke compared to FES applied to the TA only during stair climbing, and during stair climbing without FES in persons with stroke. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty subjects with stroke participated in this study. Subjects were included if: 1) they were diagnosed as stroke at least 6 months before; 2) had Mini Mental State Examination- Korean score of 24 or higher; 3) were able to climb a flight of 10 stairs independently (with or without walking aid). The patients walked 10 stairs 3 times with FES applied to the Gm and TA, only TA, or no FES. There was a 1-minute rest period between each bout. The assessments were made using the Timed Up & Down Test and the Wii Balance Board. Results: Stair climbing with FES applied to the Gm and TA was significantly faster than stair climbing with FES applied to the TA only and without FES (p<0.05). Stair climbing with FES applied to the Gm and TA exhibited significantly greater sway velocity than stair climbing without FES (p<0.05). However, maximal sway distances were not significantly different between groups. Conclusions: Stair climbing with FES applied to the Gm and TA can be an important component of a rehabilitation program for improving stair climbing ability in persons with stroke.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2003

An autonomous stair robot recognizing the stair, and climbing up and down the stair by utilizing a robot vision, photo sensors, and appropriate climbing algorithm is introduced. Four arms associated with four wheels make the robot climb up and down more safely and faster than a simple track typed robot. The robot can adjust wheel base according to the stair width, hence it can adopt to a variable width stair with different algorithms in climbing up and down. The command and image data acquired from the robot are transferred to the main computer through RF wireless modules, and the data are delivered to a remote computer via a network communication through a proper data compression, thus, the real time image monitoring is implemented effectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.89-99
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• 2017

This paper describes the development of a thigh wearable robot for power assistance during stair climbing. In the wearable robot developed in this study, high-power BLDC motors and high-capacity harmonic reduction gears are used to effectively assist the thigh muscle during stair climbing. In particular, normal ground and stair are distinguished accurately by using wireless smart shoes, and the stair climbing assistance is performed by activating the actuators at an appropriate time. Impedance of the hip joint was effectively reduced by performing friction compensation of the gears, and a wearing adjustment mechanism was designed to fit the robot to the thigh by conveniently modifying the width and tilting angle of the robot using set collars. Consequently, the performance of the developed thigh wearable robot was verified through stair climbing experiments with EMG measurement.

• 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.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.393-398
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation patterns of lower extremities in stroke patients during stepper climbing, stair-up, and level-ground gait conditions by surface electromyography (EMG). Methods: Subjects included 19 hemiplegic patients comprehensive rehabilitation center for inpatients with stroke. Surface EMG was used to measure the subjects' medial gastrocnemius (GCM), tibialis anterior (TA), biceps femoris (BF), and rectus femoris (RF) activity as they took six steps during stepper climbing, stair-up, and level-ground gait conditions. Results: There was no significant difference in the BF or RF muscle activity for the stepper climbing, stair-up, and level-ground gait conditions. However, there were significant differences in the medial GCM and TA muscle activity between each condition on the patients' hemiplegic side(p<0.05). There was significant difference in the medial GCM, TA, RF, and BF muscle activity between each condition on the patients' non-hemiplegic side (p<0.05). Conclusion: As a result, the overall muscle activity during the level-ground gait was higher than the stair-up condition, and the muscle activity during the stair-up condition was higher than the muscle activity during the stepper climbing condition. As one of the many methods used for gait training, we suggest that the stepper exercise could be applied at an earlier stage in the gait training process.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.362-370
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• 2021

In this paper, we propose the Autonomous Stair-climbing system based on data from ToF sensors and IMU in developing stair-climbing robots to passive wheelchair users. Autonomous stair-climbing system are controlled by separating the timing of landing gear operation by location and utilizing state machines. To prove the theory, we construct and experiment with standard model stairs. Through an experiment to get the Attack angle, the average error of operating landing gear was 2.19% and the average error of the Attack angle was 2.78%, and the step division and status transition of the autonomous stair-climbing system were verified. As a result, the performance of the proposed techniques will reduce constraints of transportation handicapped.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2024

Purpose : Wearing high-heeled shoes leads to foot and ankle instability, which requires leg muscles to remain in constant contraction. In order to adapt to the instability of the feet and ankles caused by wearing high heels, the muscles of the legs continuously repeat contraction and relaxation. Previous studies of the impact of stair climbing in high-heeled shoes have involved placing the entire stepping area of the shoe on the stair. However, high-heeled shoe wearers sometimes unconsciously contact the stair using only half of the stepping area. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine differences in leg and ankle muscle activation according to stepping area during stair climbing in high-heeled shoes. Methods : Twenty young women in their early 20s voluntarily agreed to participate in this study. We used surface electromyography to measure gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior activation in the right leg during stair climbing under three conditions: barefoot, using half of high-heeled shoe stepping area, and using the total of high-heeled shoe stepping area. Barefoot, half of high heeled shoe, and total of high-heeled shoe were used to evaluate the effects of different areas of the foot or high heels touching the stairs. Results : Both muscles showed significant activity differences among the three stair climbing conditions. Gastrocnemius activity was significantly different between the high-heeled shoe conditions (p= .032), and tibialis anterior activity was significantly different between barefoot stair climbing and climbing with half of the high-heeled shoe stepping area (p= .021). Conclusion : The stepping area increased as heel size increased, thus increasing excessive gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior activity to control excessive ankle joint movement. We infer that using half of the high-heeled shoe stepping area prevents muscle fatigue by reducing excessive leg and ankle muscle activation.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.815-817
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• 2022

This paper is about the development of an automatic stair climbing trolley for carrying loads without manpower. The design of tri-wheeled structure and center of mass enable the trolley to move on flat ground and also to ascend stairs by self-balancing. The overall design enables the trolley to avoid collision to walls when the trolley rotates on domestic landings. When the camera recognizes the stair, the sensor measures distance from the trolley to the stair. Then the trolley can move to align itself in the middle of the stair and it starts climbing. It can ascend to a specific floor based on the floor number entered by the user. As a result, the automatic stair climbing trolley is expected to help humans by protecting from accidents of dropping loads and saving their power. It is also expected to use for various purposes such as delivering packages, moving and carrying heavy loads in buildings without elevator.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.373-374
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• 2010