Stair climbing

About: Stair climbing is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1610 publications have been published within this topic receiving 30504 citations.

Autonomous stair-climbing with miniature jumping robots

Abstract: The problem of vision-guided control of miniature mobile robots is investigated. Untethered mobile robots with small physical dimensions of around 10 cm or less do not permit powerful onboard computers because of size and power constraints. These challenges have, in the past, reduced the functionality of such devices to that of a complex remote control vehicle with fancy sensors. With the help of a computationally more powerful entity such as a larger companion robot, the control loop can be closed. Using the miniature robot's video transmission or that of an observer to localize it in the world, control commands can be computed and relayed to the inept robot. The result is a system that exhibits autonomous capabilities. The framework presented here solves the problem of climbing stairs with the miniature Scout robot. The robot's unique locomotion mode, the jump, is employed to hop one step at a time. Methods for externally tracking the Scout are developed. A large number of real-world experiments are conducted and the results discussed.

Stair Climber Smart Mobile Robot (MSRox)

Abstract: MSRox is a wheeled mobile robot with two actuated degrees of freedom which enables it to have smooth motion on flat surfaces. It has the capability of climbing stairs and traversing obstacles, and adaptability toward uphill, downhill and slope surfaces. MSRox with 82 cm in length, 54 cm in width and 29 cm in height has been designed to climb stairs of 10 cm in height and 15 cm in width; nevertheless, it has the capability of climbing stairs up to about 17 cm in height and unlimited widt. In this paper, the motion systems and the capabilities of MSRox are described. Furthermore, experimental results of stair climbing and a comparison of the results with others are presented.

Task-specific modulation of cutaneous reflexes expressed at functionally relevant gait cycle phases during level and incline walking and stair climbing

Abstract: Reflexes are exquisitely sensitive to the motor task that is being performed at the time they are evoked; in other words, they are "task-dependent". The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the pattern of reflex modulation is conserved across three locomotor tasks that differ in muscle activity, joint kinematics, and stability demands. Subjects performed continuous level and incline walking on a treadmill and stair climbing on a stepping mill. Cutaneous reflexes were evoked by delivering trains of electrical stimulation to the sural nerve at the ankle at an intensity of two times the radiating threshold. Electromyographic (EMG) recordings were collected continuously from muscles in the arms, legs and trunk. Results showed that middle-latency reflex modulation patterns were generally conserved across the three locomotor tasks with a few notable exceptions related to specific functional requirements. For example, a reflex reversal was observed for tibialis anterior during stair climbing, which may be indicative of a specific adaptation to the task constraints. Overall our data suggest that the underlying neural mechanisms involved in coordinating level walking can be modified to also coordinate other locomotor tasks such as incline walking and stair climbing. Therefore, there may be considerable overlap in the neural control of different forms of locomotion.

Effects of 2,000 kcal per week of walking and stair climbing on physical fitness and risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic evidence suggests that 8,368 kJ or 2000 kcal per week of moderate physical activity, including walking and stair climbing, can reduce risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The goal of this study was to assess the effects of this amount of these two activities on physical fitness and risk factors for CHD. METHODS: Twenty-two healthy, slightly overweight, sedentary, normotensive, normolipemic men, age 22 to 44 years, were randomly assigned to an exercise or control group for 12 weeks followed by a 4-week washout period. The subjects then were crossed-over to the alternate group for an additional 12-week period. Exercise consisted of 5 days per week of supervised treadmill exercise plus stair climbing. Treadmill exercise consisted of walking for 45 minutes at 5.15 km per hour at 2% grade for a total of 19.3 km per week. Subjects also climbed 10 floors of stairs at a time at their own pace without prescribed target heart rates for a total of 50 floors per week. The estimated total weekly energy cost of the treadmill walking plus stair climbing was 8,368 kJ or 2,000 kcal. Mean observed heart rates were 55% and 82% of maximal heart rate during treadmill walking and stair climbing, respectively. Data from the two exercise periods and two control periods were pooled and compared by analysis of variance. RESULTS: Sixteen subjects completed all phases of the study. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) by the Bruce treadmill exercise protocol with metabolic gas measurements was below average for age at baseline, and was not significantly affected by 12 weeks of training. No significant changes were noted between groups in body weight or percent body fat (hydrostatic weighing), although there was a trend for loss of weight and fat with exercise training. Mean systolic blood pressure (119 mm Hg) was unchanged in both groups. However, diastolic blood pressure (72 mm Hg and 78 mm Hg for the treatment and control groups, respectively) showed an unexpected 6 mm Hg increase during the exercise period and a 5 mm Hg decline during the control period. Mean plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels were unaffected by training, except for a 16% reduction in triglycerides (P < .05). However, a 28% increase in plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (P < .01) was noted during the initial 12-week training period, which regressed during the washout period, and was not replicated during the second 12-week exercise period. CONCLUSIONS: Twelve weeks of walking and stair climbing at a moderate pace and intensity at an energy cost of about 2,000 kcal per week failed to improve physical fitness or risk factors for CHD. A reduction in physical activities other than the prescribed exercise program, as reported by a physical activity recall questionnaire, probably contributed to an absence of an exercise response. A longer and/or a more intense activity program is apparently required to improve these modalities.

Assessment of transfemoral amputees using C-Leg and Power Knee for ascending and descending inclines and steps.

Abstract: INTRODUCTION Over 840 U.S. military servicemembers have sustained a major lower-limb amputation as a result of the current conflicts, Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) [1]. These servicemembers are almost always extremely motivated to reach their highest level of function. Whether remaining on Active Duty or eventually separating to civilian life, each individual will continue to have many physical obstacles to negotiate, including stairs and slopes. The loss of a limb, and the respective anatomical joints, has been shown to cause a deviation from "normalized" mobility and can result in asymmetries during gait [2-8]. These asymmetries have been reported to contribute to secondary injuries such as osteoarthritis, joint degeneration, and low-back pain [7,9-15]. Servicemembers with trauma, including amputation, to one or both lower limbs may be at a greater risk for secondary injuries because of additional physical compensations during ambulation. Ascending and descending slopes and stairs present a greater biomechanical challenge than overground walking. The additional difficulties associated with slopes and stairs may translate into additional degeneration of the remaining joints caused by increased forces and moments compared with overground walking. Research has shown that for young nondisabled individuals, joint forces and moments at the knees and hips are greater during stair ascent than descent or level walking. This implies a greater demand on those joints [1617]. Minimal research has been conducted on ambulation of those with major limb loss during stair and ramp ascent and descent. One study examined stair descent for persons with transfemoral amputation (TFA) and transtibial amputation and stair ascent for those with transtibial amputation only [18]. They concluded that during stair descent, people with TFA respond more similarly to controls than people with transtibial amputation. This result occurs because people with TFA who use a microprocessor knee are better able to control knee hydraulics during the descent than those with mechanical knees. Better knee hydraulics allow a person using a microprocessor knee to control their descent. During ascent, functional compensations are made primarily by the contralateral limb [18]. The compensations and resulting forces on the nondisabled limb may be even greater for those with TFA because of loss of a functional knee on the involved side. For people who have TFA, stair climbing is a challenging functional task. One study reports that only 7.2 percent of people with TFA are able to ascend stairs without handrail assistance and only 3 percent descend stairs step-over-step [19]. This result differs from previously mentioned research [18], which reports people with TFA descending predominantly step-over-step. These differing results may have occurred because of the prosthetic technologies used for the studies cited and when the studies occurred (1984 vs 2007). These data highlight the difficulty of this task and the importance of identifying solutions that will ease the burden of stair ambulation, particularly for people with TFA. Compared with stair ambulation, ramp ambulation was easier for these individuals because 99 percent required no assistance to ascend or descend ramps while 1 percent needed assistance [19]. This does not imply that sloped gait is not difficult for persons with TFA. One study shows that kinematic adjustment strategies are employed while negotiating slopes [20]. Efforts to replace knee function with mechanical devices have been met with varying degrees of success. The literature contains an ample number of biomechanical studies that, through the years, can be shown to correlate improved gait dynamics with technological advances in prosthetic knee design [21-23]. Decreased frequency of falls and stumbles and increased user satisfaction have also been demonstrated with the use of microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee units compared with mechanical devices [24-25]. …