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Showing papers on "Stair climbing published in 2016"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Joint kinematics are restored, on average, 6 years following reconstruction, while knee external flexion moments remain lower than controls, and long-term maintenance programs may be needed.
Abstract: Altered gait patterns follow ing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) may be associated with long-term impairments and post-traumatic osteoarthritis. This systematic review and meta-analysis compared lower limb kinematics and kinetics of the ACL reconstructed knee with (1) the contralateral limb and (2) healthy age-matched participants during walking, stair climbing, and running. The secondary aim was to describe the differences over time following ACLR for these biomechanical variables. Database searches were conducted from inception to July 2014 and updated in August 2015 for studies exploring peak knee angles and moments following ACLR during walking, stair negotiation, and running. Risk of bias was assessed with a modified Downs and Black quality index for all included studies, and meta-analyses were performed. Forest plots were explored qualitatively for recovery of gait variables over time after surgery. A total of 40 studies were included in the review; 26 of these were rated as low risk and 14 as high risk of bias. The meta-analysis included 27 studies. Strong to moderate evidence indicated no significant difference in peak flexion angles between ACLR and control groups during walking and stair ascent. Strong evidence was found for lower peak flexion moments in participants with ACLR compared with control groups and contralateral limb during walking and stair activities. Strong to moderate evidence was found for lower peak adduction moment in ACLR participants for the injured compared with the contralateral limbs during walking and stair descent. The qualitative assessment for recovery over time indicated a pattern towards restoration of peak knee flexion angle with increasing time from post-surgery. Peak knee adduction moments were lower within the first year following surgery and higher than controls during later phases (5 years). Joint kinematics are restored, on average, 6 years following reconstruction, while knee external flexion moments remain lower than controls. Knee adduction moments are lower during early phases following reconstruction, but are higher than controls, on average, 5 years post-surgery. Findings indicate that knee function is not fully restored following reconstruction, and long-term maintenance programs may be needed.

110 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Stair climb provides measurable stress, accurately predicts postoperative complications, and is easy to administer in patients undergoing abdominal surgery.
Abstract: Background Current methods to predict patients' perioperative morbidity use complex algorithms with multiple clinical variables focusing primarily on organ-specific compromise. The aim of the current study was to determine the value of a timed stair climb in predicting perioperative complications for patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Study Design From March 2014 to July 2015, three hundred and sixty-two patients attempted stair climbing while being timed before undergoing elective abdominal surgery. Vital signs were measured before and after stair climb. Ninety-day postoperative complications were assessed by the Accordion Severity Grading System. The prognostic value of stair climb was compared with the American College of Surgeons NSQIP risk calculator. Results A total of 264 (97.4%) patients were able to complete the stair climb. Stair climb time directly correlated to changes in both mean arterial pressure and heart rate as an indicator of stress. An Accordion grade 2 or higher complication occurred in 84 (25%) patients. There were 8 mortalities (2.4%). Patients with slower stair climb times had increased complication rates (p Conclusions Stair climb provides measurable stress, accurately predicts postoperative complications, and is easy to administer in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Larger patient populations with a diverse group of operations will be needed to validate the use of stair climbing in risk-prediction models.

30 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results indicate that patients with TKA adopt compensatory strategies at both the hip and knee, likely a result of quadriceps avoidance, which may stem from instability after TKA or a habitual strategy developed during the late stages of osteoarthritis.
Abstract: Patients with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) demonstrate quadriceps weakness and functional limitations 1 year after surgery during daily tasks such as walking and stair climbing. Most biomechanical analyses of patients after TKA focus on quadriceps function and rarely investigate other lower-extremity muscles or high-demand ambulatory activities of daily living. The purpose of this investigation was to quantify lower-extremity muscle forces in patients with unilateral TKA during high-demand tasks of pivoting and descending stairs. Five patients with unilateral TKA and five age and sex-matched controls performed three bilateral high-demand tasks: (1) step down from an 8-inch platform, (2) inside pivot: 90° direction change toward planted limb, and (3) outside pivot: 90° direction change away from planted limb. Subject-specific musculoskeletal simulations were created in OpenSim to determine joint angles, moments, and lower-extremity muscle forces. The results indicate that patients with TKA adopt compensatory strategies at both the hip and knee. Patients with TKA demonstrated increased hip external rotation, decreased knee flexion, decreased quadriceps force, and decreased hip abductor force in all three tasks. These strategies are likely a result of quadriceps avoidance, which may stem from instability after TKA or a habitual strategy developed during the late stages of osteoarthritis.

26 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper describes trajectory planning for a stair-climbing mobility system (SCMS) based on the results obtained from an estimation of the dimensions of the stairs, which has the advantage of being able to generate smooth and accurate reference trajectories.
Abstract: This paper describes trajectory planning for a stair-climbing mobility system (SCMS). The planning is based on the results obtained from an estimation of the dimensions of the stairs. The strategy used to estimate the stairs' dimensions considers scanning the surface of the stairs using two laser distance sensors, which are attached to the chassis of the system. This strategy can be also used to calculate the distance from the system to the staircase. The strategy contemplates a process with which to align the system with the staircase before scanning. The results of the scanning are geometrically interpreted to estimate the dimension of the staircase. The estimation results are then used to generate the trajectory planning for the SCMS before confronting the staircase. This approach has the advantage of being able to generate smooth and accurate reference trajectories. The locomotion and the verticality of the system chassis are controlled with a nested control-loop scheme. Experimental results are depicted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the trajectory planning presented and to exhibit the capacity of the SCMS to climb up and down staircases on its own.

26 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2016-Pm&r
TL;DR: Kinematics and kinetics of ACLD and ACLR knees, compared with those on the contralateral uninjured sides, as well as and those in asymptomatic controls during stair navigation are evaluated.
Abstract: Objective Biomechanical changes have been reported for patients with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency (ACLD) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL reconstruction) (ACLR), likely due to loss of stability and changes in proprioception and neuromotor control. This review evaluated kinematics and kinetics of ACLD and ACLR knees, compared with those on the contralateral uninjured sides, as well as and those in asymptomatic controls during stair navigation. Design This is a systematic review and meta-analysis. Literature Survey Electronic database searches were conducted from their original available dates to January 2015. Studies that included participants with ACLD or ACLR and reported knee joint angles or moments during stair ascent or descent were included. Methodology Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, and the methodological quality of these was assessed with a modified Downs and Black checklist. Effect sizes for differences between injured leg and uninjured contralateral leg or controls were calculated, and meta-analyses were performed if two or more studies considered the same variable. Synthesis Quality assessment showed an average (± standard deviation) of 70.3% ± 7.2%. Meta-analysis showed less knee flexion at initial contact for ACLR knees compared with that in contralateral knees during stair ascent, with a moderate effect size and minimal heterogeneity. Knees with ACLD showed less peak knee flexion compared with that on contralateral sides during stair ascent, with minimal heterogeneity. External knee flexion moments were lower for ACLR compared with those in controls and contralateral sides during ascent and descent, whereas these moments were decreased for the ACLD compared with controls only during ascent. Meta-analysis results exhibited moderate/high heterogeneity or small/trivial effect sizes. Conclusions Differences for kinematics and kinetics for the ACL-injured knees indicate long-term compensatory and asymmetric movement patterns while ascending and descending stairs. Due to the heterogeneity as well as the small numbers of available studies, the consequences of these differences in terms of long-term function or posttraumatic osteoarthritis need further exploration.

22 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A realistic scenario for simulation of various motor tasks using a displacement controlled wear testing machine is presented and the knee simulator showed an accurate reproduction of the various motion and load patterns, with average error lower than 5%.

20 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study shows a successful stair-climbing intervention at the worksite and identifies the main barriers to adoption and implementation related to location and visibility of posters and process evaluation was useful in identifying these barriers and in finding appropriate solutions.
Abstract: Background Stair climbing helps to accumulate short bouts of physical activity throughout the day as a strategy for attaining recommended physical activity levels. There exists a need for effective long-term stair-climbing interventions that can be transferred to various worksite settings. The aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate short- and long-term effectiveness of a worksite stair-climbing intervention using an objective measurement of stair climbing and a controlled design; and 2) to perform a process evaluation of the intervention. Methods We performed a controlled before-and-after study. The study was conducted in two corporate buildings of the same company located in Paris (France), between September, 2013 and September, 2014. The status of either “intervention site” or “control site” was assigned by the investigators. Participants were on-site employees (intervention site: n = 783; control site: n = 545 at baseline). Two one-month intervention phases using signs (intervention phase 1) and enhancement of stairwell aesthetics (intervention phase 2) were performed. The main outcome was the change in stair climbing, measured with automatic counters and expressed in absolute counts/day/100 employees and percent change compared to baseline. Qualitative outcomes were used to describe the intervention process. Results Stair climbing significantly increased at the intervention site (+18.7 %) but decreased at the control site (-13.3 %) during the second intervention phase (difference between sites: +4.6 counts/day/100 employees, p < 0.001). After the intervention and over the long term, stair climbing returned to baseline levels at the intervention site, but a significant difference between sites was found (intervention site vs. control site: +2.9 counts/day/100 employees, p < 0.05). Some important facets of the intervention were implemented as intended but other aspects had to be adapted. The main difficulty reported by the company’s staff members lay in matching the internal communications rules with critical intervention criteria. The program was maintained at the setting level after the end of the study. Conclusions This study shows a successful stair-climbing intervention at the worksite. The main barriers to adoption and implementation were related to location and visibility of posters. Process evaluation was useful in identifying these barriers throughout the study, and in finding appropriate solutions.

19 citations


Patent
01 Aug 2016
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe devices, methods and systems for modifying or altering gait kinematics via sensory augmentation and/or modifying muscle activation patterns via augmented motor learning to slow the progression of and or reduce the pain associated with knee OA.
Abstract: The present disclosure describes devices, methods and systems for modifying or altering gait kinematics via sensory augmentation and/or modifying muscle activation patterns via augmented motor learning to slow the progression of and/or reduce the pain associated with knee OA, particularly during gait (e.g., walking, running, stair climbing, etc.). Sensors can be used to measure gait parameters and characteristics and muscle activation patterns. Stimulation can be provided to the individual in order to promote learning new gait kinematics and muscle activation patterns.

16 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A compact wheelchair, which has two 3-degrees of freedom legs and a 1-DOF base for stair-climbing, and wheels for flat surface driving, and keeps a stable condition to ensure the stability in an emergency stop is described.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a compact wheelchair, which has two 3-degrees of freedom (DOF) legs and a 1-DOF base (the total DOF of the leg system is 7) for stair-climbing, and wheels for flat surface driving. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed wheelchair climbs stairs using the two 3-DOF legs with boomerang-shaped feet. The leg mechanisms are folded into the compact wheelchair body when the wheelchair moves over flat surfaces. The authors also propose a simple estimation method of stair shape using laser distance sensors, and a dual motor driving system to increase joint power. Findings – The proposed wheelchair can climb arbitrary height and width stairs by itself, even when they are slightly curved. During climbing, the trajectory of the seat position is linear to guarantee the comfort of rider, and the wheelchair always keeps a stable condition to ensure the stability in an emergency stop. Originality/value – The wheelchair mechanism with foldable legs and driving wheels ...

15 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Reduced ankle range of motion on the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis limb resulted in compensatory strategies while ascending or descending stairs, and IDEO users were able to climb stairs step-over-step unassisted.

14 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results showed an association between earlier activation of lower limb muscles and reduced speed in subjects with DPN, which could be used to improve rehabilitation programs aiming at reducing falls risk in diabetic subjects.

Patent
19 Jan 2016
TL;DR: A stair stepping apparatus is a set of stairs forming a treadmill or endless belt on which a user steps, wherein each stair comprises: a first link comprised of a major step portion joined to a minor riser portion by a rigid elbow, and a second link comprising of major riser part joined to minor step portion by rigid elbow.
Abstract: A stair stepping apparatus comprising: a plurality of stairs forming a treadmill or endless belt on which a user steps, wherein each stair comprises: a first link comprised of a major step portion joined to a minor riser portion by a rigid elbow, and a second link comprised of major riser portion joined to a minor step portion by a rigid elbow.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Patients who use a modern prosthesis following hemipelvectomy demonstrated good clinical function with and without their prosthesis, and a trend for faster locomotion using crutches over wearing a prosthesis in the timed up and go, and 5-m and 400-m walk.
Abstract: Background:Major amputations are indicated for curative treatment of some tumors of the pelvis. Previous literature suggests that patients with a hemipelvectomy amputation are more efficient walking with crutches than using a prosthesis.Objectives:The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether modern prosthetic use after hemipelvectomy may be a viable option for patients than in the past.Study Design:Case control trial.Methods:We identified five patients who underwent hemipelvectomy amputation and fit with high-level prosthetic components. Patients were evaluated using a timed up and go, 5-m walk, 400-m walk, and stair climb tests to evaluate functional performance with a prosthesis and without. Short Form–36 scores were collected as well. These results were compared to matched controls.Results:There was a trend for faster locomotion using crutches over wearing a prosthesis in the timed up and go, and 5-m and 400-m walk; no difference was seen in stair climbing. Short Form–36 scores showed decreased ph...

Patent
03 Feb 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, a stair climbing vehicle with a transmission main shaft and a differential mechanism is described, which is stable in stair climbing, safe, reliable and capable of greatly saving labor.
Abstract: The invention discloses a stair climbing vehicle which comprises a stair climbing mechanism. The stair climbing mechanism comprises a transmission main shaft and a differential mechanism. The differential mechanism comprises an inner side three-supporting-arm star-shaped support, an outer side three-supporting-arm star-shaped support and a three-way support. The inner side three-supporting-arm star-shaped support is connected to the transmission main shaft, a center bevel gear is fixed to the center of the inner side three-supporting-arm star-shaped support, the three-way support is correspondingly fixed to the transmission main shaft, the inner end of the three-way support is rotationally connected with the center bevel gear, the upper end and the lower end of the three-way support are each connected with a planetary bevel gear, and the two planetary bevel gears are meshed with the center bevel gear and an outer side bevel gear. A chain wheel shaft is fixed to the outer end of the outer side bevel gear. The middles of the ends of three pairs of supporting arms of the inner side three-supporting-arm star-shaped support and the outer side three-supporting-arm star-shaped support of the chain wheel shaft are all provided with a chain wheel, the chain wheels are connected with the chain wheel shaft, axles are fixed to the chain wheels, and the axles are connected with climbing wheels through one-way bearings. The stair climbing vehicle is stable in stair climbing, safe, reliable and capable of greatly saving labor.

Journal ArticleDOI
11 Jul 2016-Sensors
TL;DR: Stair climbing presents more challenges than level walking because it is associated with numerous physical factors, including lower extremity strength, cardiopulmonary endurance, vision, balance, and fear of falling, and stair-walking is more sensitive than straight-line level walking in capturing gait characteristics for adolescents with ID.
Abstract: Most individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) demonstrate problems in learning and movement coordination. Consequently, they usually have difficulties in activities such as standing, walking, and stair climbing. To monitor the physical impairments of these children, regular gross motor evaluation is crucial. Straight-line level walking is the most frequently used test of their mobility. However, numerous studies have found that unless the children have multiple disabilities, no significant differences can be found between the children with ID and typically-developed children in this test. Stair climbing presents more challenges than level walking because it is associated with numerous physical factors, including lower extremity strength, cardiopulmonary endurance, vision, balance, and fear of falling. Limited ability in those factors is one of the most vital markers for children with ID. In this paper, we propose a sensor-based approach for measuring stair-walking performance, both upstairs and downstairs, for adolescents with ID. Particularly, we address the problem of sensor calibration to ensure measurement accuracy. In total, 62 participants aged 15 to 21 years, namely 32 typically-developed (TD) adolescents, 20 adolescents with ID, and 10 adolescents with multiple disabilities (MD), participated. The experimental results showed that stair-walking is more sensitive than straight-line level walking in capturing gait characteristics for adolescents with ID.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
06 Jul 2016
TL;DR: A framework is proposed for detecting the stair region from stair image utilizing some natural properties of stair, and vanishing point is calculated to verify stair edges from other similar patterns and confirm the detection of stair candidate region.
Abstract: Detecting stair region and estimating the distance from a camera to stair in a stair image is the fundamental step in the implementation of autonomous stair climbing navigation, as well as alarm systems for vision impaired people. In this paper, a framework is proposed for detecting the stair region from stair image utilizing some natural properties of stair. One unique property of them is, every stair step's beginning and ending horizontal edge point intersects with two vertical edge points creating three connected point. These vertical edges are stair step's height and its width edge. Another unique property is steps of a stair appear gradually increasing order from top to bottom of the stair in a parallel arrangement. For that initially, directional Gabor filter and Canny edge detector are employed on the stair image to eliminate the influence of illumination and for detecting stair edges. Non-candidate stair edges are removed by performing filtering operation. Then longest horizontal edges are extracted by using a proposed edge linking method on the edge image. After that, a search method is applied for finding stair step height and width edge point at the beginning and ending point of the longest horizontal edges. This operation is performed for detecting three connected points to validate the stair edges. In the next step, increasing longest horizontal edge segments are extracted by comparing x coordinate values of two consecutive edges end points to justify them as stair edges. Finally, from this set of horizontal edges, vanishing point is calculated to verify stair edges from other similar patterns and confirm the detection of stair candidate region. In addition, the triangular similarity is used for distance estimation from camera to stair. The proposed framework is tested using various stair images under a variety of conditions and results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is tentatively speculated that multifocal IOLs may carry no additional fall risk, given that step characteristics are related to fall risk; however, little is known about the biomechanics of stair navigation in individuals with multifocalIOLs.
Abstract: Intraocular lenses (IOLs) provide distance and near refraction and are becoming the standard for cataract surgery. Multifocal glasses increase variability of toe clearance in older adults navigating stairs and increase fall risk; however, little is known about the biomechanics of stair navigation in individuals with multifocal IOLs. This study compared clearance while ascending and descending stairs in individuals with monofocal versus multifocal IOLs. Eight participants with multifocal IOLs (4 men, 4 women; mean age = 66.5 yr, standard deviation [SD] = 6.26) and fifteen male participants with monofocal IOLs (mean age = 69.9 yr, SD = 6.9) underwent vision and mobility testing. Motion analysis recorded kinematic and custom software-calculated clearances in three-dimensional space. No significant differences were found between groups on minimum clearance or variability. Clearance differed for ascending versus descending stairs: the first step onto the stair had the greatest toe clearance during ascent, whereas the final step to the floor had the greatest heel clearance during descent. This preliminary study indicates that multifocal IOLs have similar biomechanic characteristics to monofocal IOLs. Given that step characteristics are related to fall risk, we can tentatively speculate that multifocal IOLs may carry no additional fall risk.

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, an intelligent inclined motion control of an amphibious vehicle while moving on uneven terrain surface is proposed to solve the problem of flood damage and caused irreparable loss to life and property.
Abstract: An analysis method to make the rocker bogie mechanism can climb up a stair is achieved in this paper. the east coast of Malaysia faced a massive flood from heavy downpour, leading to huge flood damage and caused irreparable loss to life and property. The flood carries the debris, soil and trees along their path, damaging the road and building structure, leaving the road become uneven. This situation gives difficulty to task force bearing aids during the post disaster management. This paper proposed an intelligent inclined motion control of an amphibious vehicle while moving on uneven terrain surface.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 2016-PeerJ
TL;DR: Trunk tilt during stair climbing while carrying a load was higher in women with FM, which could increase the risk of falling, which supports the need of including specific strength and resistance training to physical therapies for this population.
Abstract: Background. Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease characterized by widespread pain and other associated symptoms. It has a relevant impact on physical fitness and the ability to perform daily living tasks. The objective of the study was to analyze the step-by-step-performance and the trunk tilt of women with fibromyalgia in the 10-step stair climbing test compared with healthy controls. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out. Twelve women suffering from fibromyalgia and eight healthy controls were recruited from a local association. Participants were asked to climb 10 stairs without carrying a load and 10 stairs carrying a load of 5 kg in each hand. Mediolateral trunk tilt was assessed using the “Functional Assessment of Biomechanics (FAB)” wireless motion capture device, and the time between steps was assessed via weight-bearing insoles. Results. Trunk tilt in the stair-climbing task carrying a load was significantly higher in women with fibromyalgia when compared to the healthy controls (2.31 (0.63) vs. 1.69 (0.51) respectively). The effect of carrying a load was significantly higher for women with fibromyalgia compared with healthy controls at the intermediate and final part of the task. Discussion. Trunk tilt during stair climbing while carrying a load was higher in women with FM, which could increase the risk of falling. Additionally, women with FM experienced a higher pace slowdown as a consequence of the load, which supports the need of including specific strength and resistance training to physical therapies for this population.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Aug 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, a 3D laser range finder (LRF) system equipped on a hexapod robot is developed for performing 3D scanning for stair recognition, which can be divided into two procedures.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel stair recognition method by utilizing three-dimensional (3D) scanning for a hexapod robot to climb stairs. The method is based on the premise that stairs are composed of several parallel planar surfaces. A 3D laser range finder (LRF) system equipped on a hexapod robot is developed for performing 3D scanning. The algorithm can be divided into two procedures. At first, detecting the edge points of stair tread surfaces is performed in 2D range images. In order to enhance the robustness of the method and extract the edges more accurately, edge point searching is executed between neighbouring scan planes. Next, the extraction of the tread surfaces is carried out by using these detected edge points in 3D space. The performance of the proposed method is investigated through various experiments. As the experimental results demonstrate, the method is sufficient accurate to detect the tread surfaces and useful for a hexapod robot to climb the stair.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Nov 2016
TL;DR: It is shown that the robot's path or gait shape can be modified by the set of overall gait parameters that can be changed at any time instance, and the robot can approach stairs with a variable number of half-steps, switch smoothly to stair climbing, and back to walking on flat surface as humans can do.
Abstract: Humans can reliably walk in dynamic and unstructured environments, simultaneously handle stairs and obstacles, as well as the transition from one gait to another. Despite the outstanding progress in the last decades, today's robots are still far from attaining that level of performance. This paper presents a new way of walk and stair climbing realization with a smooth transition between two types of gait. The gaits are composed of Reconfigurable Adaptive Motion Primitives (RAMPs), which serves as building blocks for any walking pattern. A human locomotion experiment is conducted to better understand how human approaches and positions the foot in front of the stairs with respect to the overall walk characteristics. These findings are used to compare the results of a simulation experiment with humanoid robot performing same locomotion as the human subject. It is shown that the robot's path or gait shape can be modified by the set of overall gait parameters that can be changed at any time instance. The robot can approach stairs with a variable number of half-steps, switch smoothly to stair climbing, and back to walking on flat surface, and modify walking speed and direction on-line as humans can do.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Aug 2016
TL;DR: A novel Claw-Wheel transformable hybrid robot, which can transform between the claw mode and the wheel mode for the investigation of various environment, and extends the body length to make the robot stride three steps.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel Claw-Wheel transformable hybrid robot, which can transform between the claw mode and the wheel mode for the investigation of various environment. The transformation process is done by simply folding or unfolding the front body through the active transformation mechanism. The claw mode driven by four unique claws is used to overcome rough terrain, especially steep stairs. The wheel mode driven by two driving wheels is used for moving on flat terrain without oscillations. For enhancing the stability during climbing steep stairs in the claw mode, we extend the body length to make the robot stride three steps. Compared with the robot designed for striding two steps, the COM projection of the robot will be assured to lie in the support polygon. Furthermore, the difference of the required torques between the front and rear motors could be narrowed down. In the wheel mode, the kinematics of specific differential drive is analyzed. The switching control strategy between the angle-tracking control and the speed control is employed to form complete wheels and follow a specified path. The claws in stance could drive the robot on the desired path by following the respective velocities differentially. To form the driving wheels, the claws in flight track the claws in stance in 90° phase difference by the angle-tracking control. The switching control strategy with yaw feedback make the robot track the desired orientation more correctly. The results from simulations and experiments are presented and discussed.

Patent
21 Sep 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, a wheel-track integrated loading building climbing vehicle for an inclinable lifting platform is presented, which consists of a reducing wheel, a track chassis mechanism, a lifting platform mechanism and a pedal mechanism.
Abstract: The invention discloses a wheel-track integrated loading building climbing vehicle for an inclinable lifting platform and belongs to the technical field of advanced manufacturing and automation The wheel-track integrated loading building climbing vehicle is a multifunctional goods carrying vehicle The technical problems that in the express transportation industry, the sorting and handling efficiency of different-size objects is low, an express sorting vehicle is cumbersome and simplex in function, and thus orderly handling and flexible transportation of goods are difficult to achieve are solved The wheel-track integrated loading building climbing vehicle comprises a reducing wheel mechanism, a track chassis mechanism, a lifting platform mechanism and a pedal mechanism In level walking process of the carrying vehicle, a front reducing wheel of a vehicle body stretches to make contact with the ground, a rear pedal of the vehicle body is put down to make contact with the ground, so that tracks are raised to the air, and the purpose of fast level walking is achieved In the stair climbing process, the reducing wheel and the pedal retract, the track make contact with the ground at the time, and the floor climbing process is completed through a track type structure In the whole process, the stability of goods transportation is ensured by the self-adaptive lifting platform The lifting platform is designed to be of a drawing type structure, so that on the one hand, the space occupancy is optimized; and on the other hand, the platform where the goods are located extend to the ground during unloading, and thus unloading is convenient

Patent
24 Aug 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, an automatic stair climbing chair consisting of an electric folding chair and an electric stair climbing mechanism is described. But the folding chair is not used to carry a patient.
Abstract: The invention discloses an automatic stair climbing chair which comprises an electric folding chair and an electric stair climbing mechanism. The electric folding chair is driven by a servo motor to move forwards or backwards. The electric stair climbing mechanism is arranged on the rear side of the electric folding chair. The electric folding chair and the electric stair climbing mechanism can be folded into a whole to be stored. The electric stair climbing mechanism adopts a pair of caterpillar bands for walking up and down stairs. The electric stair climbing mechanism controls the servo motor through a circuit board and a control box. A spring wire is arranged inside a pull rod, and wiring is performed in a concealed wiring mode. The automatic stair climbing chair is simple in structure, and after the automatic stair climbing chair is folded into the whole, the storage space is small, so that carrying and storage are convenient. Compared with traditional caterpillar bands, plane and longitudinal decoration line caterpillar bands are adopted, and transition is smooth and comfortable; the control wiring is arranged in the concealed wiring mode, wires will not be damaged, and the automatic stair climbing chair is safer; a rear lifting handle has the locking function, so that an operator transfers a patient conveniently; the stair climbing chair is flexible and convenient to operate, safe and stable to use and convenient to maintain.

Patent
03 Aug 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, an intelligent stair climbing wheelchair with the effect of automatic distance measurement is described, where the wheelchair comprises a travelling and climbing mechanism, a wheelchair rack, a seat, an automatic mass center regulation mechanism, and a battery pack.
Abstract: The invention discloses an intelligent stair climbing wheelchair with an effect of automatic distance measurement. The wheelchair comprises a travelling and climbing mechanism, a wheelchair rack, a seat, an automatic mass center regulation mechanism, and a battery pack, wherein the seat is arranged inside the wheelchair rack due to a seat suspension mechanism, and the seat suspension mechanism is connected with the wheelchair rack through a spherical hinge; the travelling and climbing mechanism comprises a star wheel mechanism and an automatic mass center regulation support; the star wheel structure is connected with the wheelchair rack by virtue of the mass center automatic regulation support; the star wheel structure has three star wheel expansion links which are uniformly distributed in circumference; the free end of each star wheel expansion link is provided with a star wheel, a servo motor is used for driving the star wheel expansion links to rotate around a transmission shaft, and star wheels rotate freely around an assembly shaft. When the intelligent stair climbing wheelchair is on a flat ground, two star wheels are contacted with the ground; when the wheelchair is used for climbing stairs, the servo motor is used for driving the star wheel expansion links to rotate according to a control signal sent by a control system processor, so that stair climbing is realized.

Journal ArticleDOI
Ahmed Aia, Cheng H, Lin X, Omer M, Atieno Jm 
28 Oct 2016
TL;DR: The experimental results show that the proposed gait transition control strategy can minimize the interaction dynamics with less interaction force between the pilot and the exoskeleton compared to the traditional admittance controller.
Abstract: Online gait control in human-powered exoskeleton systems is still rich research field and represents a step towards fully autonomous, safe and intelligent navigation. Admittance Controller performs well on flat terrain walking in human-powered exoskeleton systems for acceleration and slowdown. We are the first who proposed Variable Admittance Controller (VAC) for smooth stair climbing control in Human-Powered Exoskeleton Systems. Trajectory correction technique transforms the interaction forces exerted on the exoskeleton from the pilot to appropriate intended joint flexion angles through dynamic viscoelastic models. We demonstrate the proposed control strategy on one degree-of-freedom (1-DOF) platform first, and then extend to the Human power Augmentation Lower Exoskeleton (HUALEX). The experimental results show that the proposed gait transition control strategy can minimize the interaction dynamics with less interaction force between the pilot and the exoskeleton compared to the traditional admittance controller. Compared to Ordinary Admittance Controller, the proposed VAC significantly improve the normalized Mean Squared Error (nMSE) of trajectory tracking from 2.751° to1.105°.

Book ChapterDOI
30 Jun 2016
TL;DR: Considering the goal of maximizing the comfort for the user, the oscillation introduced on the wheelchair seat by the locomotion system has been studied and solutions able to reduce them are proposed.
Abstract: In this paper, an electric stair-climbing wheelchair is presented. The proposed solution is based on a smart hybrid leg-wheel locomotion system. This idea has been developed through several wheelchair concepts presented in the first part of the paper, pointing out the main advantages and disadvantages for each solution. In the second part, an optimization procedure regarding the geometry of the latest wheelchair architecture is presented. The aim is to maximize the wheelchair performances in terms of safety and comfort for the user. In particular, the geometric parameters of the wheelchair structure have been analysed in order to assess which configuration guarantees an acceptable static stability of the wheelchair during stair climbing motion. Moreover, considering the goal of maximizing the comfort for the user, the oscillation introduced on the wheelchair seat by the locomotion system has been studied and solutions able to reduce them are proposed.

Patent
04 May 2016
TL;DR: The safe stair handrails are simple in structure, are easy to operate, and can protect a man climbing stairs during a process of stair climbing as discussed by the authors, and can be used to prevent a man from falling while climbing stairs.
Abstract: The invention discloses safe stair handrails Each stair handrail is internally provided with a chain transmission chamber; the chain transmission chamber is internally provided with a rotatable chain; the rotatable chain includes 4-6 T-shaped connection hooks; each stair handrail internally includes a T-shaped sliding block sliding groove communicating with the chain transmission chamber; two ends of each stair handrail are provided with a clamping groove communicating with the sliding block sliding groove respectively; the sliding block sliding groove includes a safe sliding block and a cargo sliding block which slide in the sliding block sliding groove and are connected to the connection hooks of the chain; the safe sliding block is provided with a semi-circular safe support rod; a handrail joint is internally provided with a joint inner chamber corresponding to the sliding block sliding groove; and the joint inner chamber includes two lines of rolling wheels for allowing the safe sliding block and the cargo sliding block to pass The safe stair handrails are simple in structure, are easy to operate, and can protect a man climbing stairs during a process of stair climbing

Patent
23 Nov 2016
TL;DR: In this article, a wheelchair capable of moving upstairs or downstairs without help is described, which consists of a wheelchair seat, a plurality of tire and wheel devices and an auxiliary stair climbing device.
Abstract: The invention discloses a wheelchair capable of moving upstairs or downstairs without help. The wheelchair comprises a wheelchair seat, a plurality of tire devices, a plurality of rocking wheel devices and an auxiliary stair climbing device. By means of the wheelchair, the environment obstacles for people who have difficulty in moving are reduced, people can promote the wheelchair to move upstairs or downstairs on their own without bothering others, the cost is lower, and the wheelchair is suitable for most consumer groups.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Findings suggest that old-old females have decreased upper trunk control and gait time and trunk acceleration ratio during stair climbing are useful clinical markers for predicting function and balance control ability in old- old elderly populations.
Abstract: [Purpose] This study investigated the effects of gait time and trunk acceleration ratio in old-old adult females during stair climbing. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-five older adult females who were able to walk independently volunteered for this study and were categorized into two age groups (older adults or old-old adults). Gait time and trunk acceleration ratio were measured using an accelerometer during stair climbing. [Results] Gait time and trunk acceleration ratio when climbing stairs were significantly higher in the old-old age group than in the older adults group. [Conclusions] These findings suggest that old-old females have decreased upper trunk control. In addition, gait time and the trunk acceleration ratio during stair climbing are useful clinical markers for predicting function and balance control ability in old-old elderly populations.