In this study, we experimentally investigated the effect of shoes on gait with new elastomer-embedded flexible joint (EEFJ). We designed the EEFJ to support plantar flexion moments on ankle joints. A strength test was conducted for the... more
In this study, we experimentally investigated the effect of shoes on gait with new elastomer-embedded flexible joint (EEFJ). We designed the EEFJ to support plantar flexion moments on ankle joints. A strength test was conducted for the EEFJ. According to the results of the test, moments in plantar flexion were significantly stronger than those in dorsiflexion. We prototyped gait support shoes with the EEFJ. The weight of the EEFJ unit for a single foot was 32.5 g. We also conducted gait experiment on a healthy subject with and without the shoes. The results showed reductions in electromyograms of the tibialis anterior muscle in the initial phases of gait.
This paper presents a Gaussian radial basis function neural network based on sliding mode control for trajectory tracking and vibration control of a flexible joint manipulator. To study the effectiveness of the controllers, designed... more
This paper presents a Gaussian radial basis function neural network based on sliding mode control for trajectory tracking and vibration control of a flexible joint manipulator. To study the effectiveness of the controllers, designed controller is developed for tip angular position control of a flexible joint manipulator. The adaptation laws of designed controller are obtained based on sliding mode control methodology without calculating the Jacobian of the flexible joint system. Also in this study, the anti-control is applied to reduce the deflection angle of flexible joint system. To achieve this goal, the chaos dynamic must be created in the flexible joint system. So, the flexible joint system has been synchronized to chaotic gyroscope system. In this study, control and anti-control concepts are applied to achieve the high quality performance of flexible joint system. It is tried to design a controller which is capable to satisfy the control and anti-control aims. The performances of the proposed control are examined in terms of input tracking capability, level of vibration reduction and time response specifications. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed method is validated through experimentation on QUANSER's flexible-joint manipulator.
