Motion Capabilities Research Articles

Exercise Cardiac Load and Autonomic Nervous System Recovery during In-Season Training: The Impact on Speed Deterioration in American Football Athletes.

Fully restoring autonomic nervous system (ANS) function is paramount for peak sports performance. Training programs failing to provide sufficient recovery, especially during the in-season, may negatively affect performance. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the physiological workload of collegiate football training on ANS recovery and function during the in-season. Football athletes recruited from a D1 college in the southeastern US were prospectively followed during their 13-week "in-season". Athletes wore armband monitors equipped with ECG and inertial movement capabilities that measured exercise cardiac load (ECL; total heartbeats) and maximum running speed during and baseline heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV) 24 h post-training. These metrics represented physiological load (ECL = HR·Duration), ANS function, and recovery, respectively. Linear regression models evaluated the associations between ECL, baseline HR, HRV, and maximum running speed. Athletes (n = 30) were 20.2 ± 1.5 years, mostly non-Hispanic Black (80.0%). Negative associations were observed between acute and cumulative exposures of ECLs and running speed (β = -0.11 ± 0.00, p < 0.0000 and β = -0.15 ± 0.04, p < 0.0000, respectively). Similarly, negative associations were found between baseline HR and running speed (β = -0.45 ± 0.12, 95% CI: -0.70, -0.19; p = 0.001). HRV metrics were positively associated with running speed: (SDNN: β = 0.32 ± 0.09, p < 0.03 and rMSSD: β = 0.35 ± 0.11, p < 0.02). Our study demonstrated that exposure to high ECLs, both acutely and cumulatively, may negatively influence maximum running speed, which may manifest in a deteriorating ANS. Further research should continue identifying optimal training: recovery ratios during off-, pre-, and in-season phases.

Domesticating Motile Media

Max Kanderske's contribution asks how domestic robots, like iRobot's famous Roomba vacuum cleaner, become domesticated robots that fit into the everyday life of their human and non-human co-habitants. In doing so, the article expands the domestication discourse to media whose motility, that is, their capability for self-induced movement, is rooted in their ability to sense, and ultimately map, their environments. Weaving netnographic findings and interview material into short vignettes, the article analyses the routes and routines that unfold between robots and users within domestic environments marked by growing IoT infrastructures and the proliferation of sensor media.

Extending Quadrotor Motion Capability by Centrally Coaxial Tilting Rotors

Extending Quadrotor Motion Capability by Centrally Coaxial Tilting Rotors

Behavior adaptation for mobile robots via semantic map compositions of constraint-based controllers.

Specifying and solving Constraint-based Optimization Problems (COP) has become a mainstream technology for advanced motion control of mobile robots. COP programming still requires expert knowledge to transform specific application context into the right configuration of the COP parameters (i.e., objective functions and constraints). The research contribution of this paper is a methodology to couple the context knowledge of application developers to the robot knowledge of control engineers, which, to our knowledge, has not yet been carried out. The former is offered a selected set of symbolic descriptions of the robots' capabilities (its so-called "behavior semantics") that are translated in control actions via "templates" in a "semantic map"; the latter contains the parameters that cover contextual dependencies in an application and robot vendor-independent way. The translation from semantics to control templates takes place in an "interaction layer" that contains 1) generic knowledge about robot motion capabilities (e.g., depending on the kinematic type of the robots), 2) spatial queries to extract relevant COP parameters from a semantic map (e.g., what is the impact of entering different types of "collision areas"), and 3) generic application knowledge (e.g., how the robots' behavior is impacted by priorities, emergency, safety, and prudence). This particular design of, and interplay between, the application, interaction, and control layers provides a structured, conceptually simple approach to advance the complexity of mobile robot applications. Eventually, industry-wide cooperation between representatives of the application and control communities should result in an interaction layer with different standardized versions of semantic complexity.

Dynamic modeling and switching analysis of all-attitude multimode underwater vehicle for multidimensional data acquisition

This study proposes a unique multimodal underwater observation platform, called all-attitude multimode underwater vehicle (AMUV). AMUV integrates the movement capabilities of Argo buoy, Glider motion modes, and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), enabling comprehensive underwater navigation. To explore the operational rules of individual modes and the changes in actuator and attitude during mode transitions, firstly, a dynamics model of AMUV is established, conforming the operating principles of the Argo buoy, Glider, and AUVs. Secondly, through open-loop simulations of different modes, the feasibility of the dynamic model is verified. Thirdly, through simulation experiments involving three typical mode switching processes, the mechanism of AMUV multi-mode switching is demonstrated. Finally, to examine the ability of the AMUV for multidimensional data acquisition, a simulation task focused on gathering multidimensional data of marine elements is designed. The simulation results indicate that the proposed AMUV has considerable potential for application in monitoring activities requiring the acquisition of multidimensional oceanographic data.

Functional connectivity varies across scales in a fragmented landscape.

Species of different sizes interact with the landscape differently because ecological structure varies with scale, as do species movement capabilities and habitat requirements. As such, landscape connectivity is dependent upon the scale at which an animal interacts with its environment. Analyses of landscape connectivity must incorporate ecologically relevant scales to address scale-specific differences. Many evaluations of landscape connectivity utilize incrementally increasing buffer distances or other arbitrary spatial delineations as scales of analysis. Instead, we used a mammalian body mass discontinuity analysis to objectively identify scales in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska, U.S.A. We implemented a graph-theoretic network analysis to evaluate the connectivity of two wetland land cover types in the CPRV, wet meadow and emergent marsh, at multiple scales represented by groupings of species with similar body mass. Body mass is allometric with multiple traits of species, including dispersal distances. The landscape was highly connected at larger scales but relatively unconnected at smaller scales. We identified a threshold at which the landscape becomes highly connected between 500 m and 6,500 m dispersal distances. The presence of a connectivity threshold suggests that species with dispersal distances close to the threshold may be most vulnerable to habitat loss or reconfiguration and management should account for the connectivity threshold. Furthermore, we propose that a multiscale approach to management will be necessary to ensure landscape connectivity for diverse species.

Fault-tolerant control strategy aiming at motion capability optimization for space manipulator with joint effectiveness partial loss failure

Aiming at the perturbation of motion capability and the deviation of end effector from its desired trajectory caused by joint effectiveness partial loss failure, a fault-tolerant control strategy considering motion capability optimization is proposed to ensure that the faulty space manipulator can carry on-orbit operation tasks. Firstly, the joint effectiveness partial loss failure model is established, and the kinematic and dynamic model of the faulty manipulator is established based on the failure model. The kinematic and dynamic coupling relationship of the faulty manipulator is also analyzed. Then based on sliding mode control, the fault-tolerant control strategy that ensures the end effector trajectory tracking and base orientation deflection attenuation is designed. Meanwhile, the motion capability optimization model is designed based on the redundancy characteristic of the manipulator and combined with the fault-tolerant control system. This combined system can realize end effector trajectory tracking, base orientation deflection attenuation, and motion capability optimization at the same time. Finally, simulation experiment is carried out to verify the proposed fault-tolerant control strategy for the faulty manipulator. The result shows that the proposed fault-tolerant control strategy can realize end effector trajectory tracking, base orientation deflection attenuation, and motion capability optimization with high control accuracy, high convergence rate, and significant motion capability optimization effect. For both joint velocity partial loss and joint torque partial loss failure, the duration of convergence is less than 0.5 s, the steady-state error is less than 1×10-4 m for end effector position and less than 1×10-5 degree for base orientation deflection, and the motion capability indexes have been raised by over 40%.

Biomechanical Consequences of Glenoid and Humeral Lateralization in Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty.

The objective of our study was to quantify the biomechanical effectiveness of lateralization in RTSA with respect to glenoid and humeral component configurations. Eight cadaveric shoulders were tested in a custom shoulder testing system. Three parameters, including the glenosphere thickness, humeral tray offset and insert thickness, were assessed by implanting eight configurations on each specimen. Humeral position, maximum internal rotation, and maximum external rotation (ER) before impingement were quantified at 0°- and 30°- glenohumeral abduction. The adduction angle at which the humeral component contacted the inferior scapular neck and the abduction angle where acromial notching occurred were also measured. The simulated active range of motion, including ER and abduction capability, was tested by increasing the load applied to the remaining posterior cuff and middle deltoid, respectively. Stability was evaluated by the forces that induced anterior dislocation at 30° abduction. The thicker glenosphere affected only lateralization, whereas the centric humeral tray and thicker insert significantly affected humeral lateralization and distalization simultaneously. Greater adduction and ER angles were found in more lateralized humerus. A significant positive correlation between humeral lateralization and ER capability was observed; however, lateralization did not significantly improve implant stability in this cadaveric testing system. Lateralization is achievable at both the glenoid and humeral sides but has different effects, therefore lateralized implant options should be selected according to patients' needs. Lateralization is an effective strategy for reducing adduction notching while increasing ER capability. Thicker glenospheres only affected humeral lateralization. The centric humeral tray would be selected for less distalization to avoid over-lengthening, whereas an eccentric humeral tray is the most effective for distalization and medialization in reducing abduction notching to the acromion and for patients with pseudoparalysis.

Design, Control, and Validation of a Symmetrical Hip and Straight-Legged Vertically-Compliant Bipedal Robot.

This paper presents the development, modeling, and control of L03, an underactuated 3D bipedal robot with symmetrical hips and straight legs. This innovative design requires only five actuators, two for the legs and three for the hips. This paper is divided into three parts: (1) mechanism design and kinematic analysis; (2) trajectory planning for the center of mass and foot landing points based on the Divergent Component of Motion (DCM), enabling lateral and forward walking capabilities for the robot; and (3) gait stability analysis through prototype experiments. The primary focus of this study is to explore the application of underactuated symmetrical designs and determine the number of motors required to achieve omnidirectional movement of a bipedal robot. Our simulation and experimental results demonstrate that L03 achieves simple walking with a stable and consistent gait. Due to its lightweight construction, low leg inertia, and straight-legged design, L03 can achieve ground perception and gentle ground contact without the need for force sensors. Compared to existing bipedal robots, L03 closely adheres to the characteristics of the linear inverted pendulum model, making it an invaluable platform for future algorithm research.

КОРЕКЦІЯ РУХОВОГО СТЕРЕОТИПУ ЖІНОК З ЦУКРОВИМ ДІАБЕТОМ І ТИПУ, ЯКІ ПЕРЕНЕСЛИ КЕСАРІВ РОЗТИН, ЗАСОБАМИ ФІЗИЧНОЇ ТЕРАПІЇ

Abstract. The Purpose is to determine the effectiveness of the use of physical therapy for the correction of the motor stereotype of women with type I diabetes that underwent cesarean section in the postpartum period.&#x0D; Methods 35 women with type 1 diabetes who underwent abdominal delivery (caesarean section) 1 month before the initial examination took part in the study. The control group consisted of 17 women, who recovered in the postpartum period without rehabilitation interventions or according to self-selected methods. 18 women of the comparison group were engaged in a physical therapy program, the effectiveness of which is presented in this study, which lasted 1 month. Within its framework, kinesitherapy was performed with women (therapeutic exercises for the upper and lower limbs, back, abdomen, chest; functional training to correct the movements of habitual activities and those that take care of a child); manual massage (back, abdomen, lower limbs). Means of physical therapy were used to improve the physical qualities of women - flexibility, strength, endurance, dexterity, speed; normalization of psycho-emotional status, which can be changed due to the risk of postpartum depression; improvement of peripheral blood circulation, changed due to diabetic angiopathy; improvement of sensitivity of peripheral tissues and neuromuscular control, altered due to diabetic neuropathy; improvement of tissue sensitivity to insulin and normalization of glucose utilization by tissues.&#x0D; The effectiveness of physical status correction was performed according to the standard Functional Movement Screen technique.&#x0D; Results The movement capabilities of women with diabetes according to the Functional Movement Screen in the postpartum period were relatively low, which was due to a long period of reduced physical activity, changes in the biomechanics of the body, and postpartum reorganization of the body.&#x0D; During the re-examination, the improvement in exercise performance was (respectively in the control group and the comparison group): "deep squat" – 11.9% and 49.2%; "hurdle step" – 17.2% and 31.7%; "in-line lunge" – 35.4% and 86.8%; "shoulder mobility" – 14.0% and 50.3%; "active straight leg raise" – 24.1% and 47.0%; "trunk stability push-up" – 20.0% and 60.4%; "rotary stability" – 34.0% and 67.1%. This is evidenced by the results of FMS in women of the control group, which were statistically significantly better (p&lt;0.05) compared to the original data, but the number of women with low scores was still significant. At the same time, the determination of FMS parameters in women of the comparison group during the repeated examination showed the feasibility of using physical therapy to improve the condition of women with diabetes in the postpartum period, since in this group the repeated results were better not only the initial levels, but also the corresponding indicators of the control group upon re-examination (p&lt;0.05).&#x0D; Conclusions After the implementation of a physical therapy program with the use of therapeutic exercises of various orientations, functional training, a statistically significantly better result was found on all tests of the Functional Movement Screen compared to women with type I diabetes who recovered after cesarean section on their own. Therefore, it is advisable to prescribe physical therapy in the process of postpartum recovery of women with diabetes in order to improve their movement pattern and speed up recovery.

Portable manipulation system for commercial robotic surgery forceps.

Transition from the utilisation of traditional instruments to new robotic methodologies in surgical operations occurs rapidly. Although the implementation of these methodologies to classical surgery operations is advantageous due to increased precisions and enhanced motion capabilities of robotic systems, overall worldwide accessibility and adaptation are still limited due to high equipment costs and special infrastructure requirements. The design of four degrees of freedom low cost, compact and portable manipulation system was proposed to allow the utilisation of commercial robotic surgery forceps like a conventional laparoscopy instrument without the necessity of bulky manipulation systems. The structural design of the system was carried out along with necessary kinematic and coupled motion analysis. Prototypes were constructed. Hardware verification of the system was executed using implemented control methodology. The proposed design successfully demonstrated the advantages of multi degree of freedom robotic surgery forceps in a portable handheld system compared to classical laparoscopy instruments.

Effect of Core Stability Exercises on Volleyball Players: A Systematic Review

Purpose: The purpose of current review was investigating the effect of core stability exercises (CSE) on volleyball players. Methods: Current research was a PRISMA systematic review. It reviewed comprehensively the Impact of CSE on volleyball players. It carried out searching in Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, PEDro, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus databases and in Persian Google Scholar, Megapaper databases, IRANDOC, Magiran, SID, Medilib, IranMedex. The keywords in two groups including: Group 1: “Core stability exercise” OR “core stability training” OR “core stability endurance” OR “trunk stability” OR “central stability exercises” OR “core intervention” OR “core stability control” OR “core strengthening exercise” OR “trunk resistance exercise” and group 2: “Volleyball” OR “volleyball player“ OR “volleyball athletes” from 2000 to February of 2023. Current research used both English and Persian languages. Results: We got 146 articles. After removing duplicate titles, we selected 127 abstracts for review. Finally, 18 articles were included in the present review. Conclusion: The outcomes of current review show that CSE have the ability to improve movement capabilities, performance, and sports skills as well as prevent injuries from volleyball players. Of course, to interpret the outcomes of the current research caution needs to be taken, considering the restrictions such as the difference in the sample size under study, measurement methods, and components of different core stability protocols.

Simulation of aircraft multi-axis acceleration in a four-axis Human Centrifuge System

High G-accelerations produced during Aircraft Combat Manoeuvres (ACMs) can adversely affect the physiological and psychological conditions of aircrew and deteriorate their performance. Human Centrifuge Systems (HCSs) provide an effective G-acceleration training tool to prepare and increase the G-tolerance of aircrew. Though highly capable HCSs are available, they are yet to be fully optimised to accurately and reliably recreate the G-vectors produced by ACMs. Optimisation steps to achieve this improvement involve the configurational structure, motion capability, and motion control of HCSs. To improve the motion capability and control of HCSs, the relationship between aircraft G-vectors and HCS G-vectors should be profoundly investigated. This work analyses the G-vectors of common ACMs and the corresponding G-vectors as well as kinematics of an active four Degree-of-Freedom (DoF) HCS. The mathematical models of an aircraft and HCS kinematics are developed using rigid body equations of motion through Newton-Euler method. The relationship between aircraft G-vectors and HCS G-vectors is established using inverse kinematics with an optimal solver. The outcomes of this study show that an active four-DoF HCS with gondola roll, pitch, and yaw rotation can replicate the G-vectors of common ACMs with small discrepancies. The largest error between the reference and achieved G-vectors occurred along the local z-axis of the HCS gondola during the transition of roll, pitch, and yaw motions of the gondola to the required angle replicating the G-vectors of the ACMs. The tracing errors are not significant; hence they can be mitigated with an optimal control technique. The presented outcomes will provide an essential step in identifying the optimal design and refined requirements for an HCS to efficiently replicate aircraft G-vectors. The applied methodology is easily adaptable to HCS with different structures and DoFs.

Magnetically Actuated Biodegradable Nanorobots for Active Immunotherapy.

An efficient and cost-effective therapeutic vaccine is highly desirable for the prevention and treatment of cancer, which helps to strengthen the immune system and activate the T cell immune response. However, initiating such an adaptive immune response efficiently remains challenging, especially the deficient antigen presentation by dendritic cells (DCs) in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Herein, an efficient and dynamic antigen delivery system based on the magnetically actuated OVA-CaCO3 -SPIO robots (OCS-robots) is rationally designed for active immunotherapy. Taking advantage of the unique dynamic features, the developed OCS-robots achieve controllable motion capability under the rotating magnetic field. Specifically, with the active motion, the acid-responsiveness of OCS-robots is beneficial for the tumor acidity attenuating and lysosome escape as well as the subsequent antigen cross-presentation of DCs. Furthermore, the dynamic OCS-robots boost the crosstalk between the DCs and antigens, which displays prominent tumor immunotherapy effect on melanoma through cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Such a strategy of dynamic vaccine delivery system enables the active activation of immune system based on the magnetically actuated OCS-robots, which presents a plausible paradigm for incredibly efficient cancer immunotherapy by designing multifunctional and novel robot platforms in the future.

Saurópodos virtuales: Una revolución en el estudio de los dinosaurios de cuello largo

Over the past 20 years, the study of fossils using 3D visualisation techniques, better known as virtual palaeontology, has revolutionised the study of organisms from the past. The study of the popular sauropod dinosaurs is a clear example: the complex mounting systems or expensive replicas once used to study their skeletons are now easily achievable thanks to advances in computing. Thus, questions such as the position of their long necks, their movement capabilities and functional implications, or even how they copulated, are easier to address than ever before. Therefore, the insights gained through traditional methods, together with the contributions of new technologies, are opening up new frontiers in the study of these titans.

Deformable hard tissue with high fatigue resistance in the hinge of bivalve Cristaria plicata.

The hinge of bivalve shells can sustain hundreds of thousands of repeating opening-and-closing valve motions throughout their lifetime. We studied the hierarchical design of the mineralized tissue in the hinge of the bivalve Cristaria plicata, which endows the tissue with deformability and fatigue resistance and consequently underlies the repeating motion capability. This folding fan-shaped tissue consists of radially aligned, brittle aragonite nanowires embedded in a resilient matrix and can translate external radial loads to circumferential deformation. The hard-soft complex microstructure can suppress stress concentration within the tissue. Coherent nanotwin boundaries along the longitudinal direction of the nanowires increase their resistance to bending fracture. The unusual biomineral, which exploits the inherent properties of each component through multiscale structural design, provides insights into the evolution of antifatigue structural materials.

Design and Experimentation of a Novel Separable Vibration-Assisted Stage

In this paper, a novel, separable two-degrees-of-freedom stage with high-precision motion and resolution is proposed for the application of vibration-assisted micromilling. A separable design was realized on the basis of the detachable structure of the platform. Flexible stages with different dimensions and types can be utilized in the devices. A circular-fillet hinge is selected as the flexible unit with a parallel structure to realize output decoupling and reduce the coupling error between the two vibration directions. Analytical modeling is conducted to explore the static and dynamic characteristics of the stage. Results reveal a good agreement with the finite element simulation result. A series of experiments were conducted to assess the static and dynamic performances of the flexible stage, encompassing tests such as amplitude response, motion trajectory, and coupling trajectory. The results of these tests revealed that the designed vibration-assisted system exhibits precise movement capabilities.

Research on Additive Technique Parameter Optimization for Robotic Gripper Construction

Designing an industrial robot gripper suitable for today’s industry is a challenging task due to the rapid evolution of products. Industrial robots are involved in machining, the transfer of parts, control and assembly, and the number of tasks performed by robots are increasing. Robots need to have the capability to adapt to new jobs consisting of new parts and new trajectories, and in most cases the preferred end effectors are grippers. In turn, grippers need to be flexible enough in order to cope with these changes. For this research, the authors propose a new gripper design which is capable of handling a large variety of parts with different sizes and shapes. In this research, an electrically actuated four-jaw gripper, with the capability of parallel movement of its jaws, is presented that also has the capability to fold the clamping jaws two by two and become a two-jaw gripper. Since the design is most suitable for additive manufacturing techniques, different additive techniques are analyzed for the manufacturing of the gripper. In the second part of the paper, different setups of the 3D printers are considered, such as infill percentage, raster angle and layer height. The main material on focus is a PET with grinded carbon-fiber reinforcement, but different materials are used for a better comparison of the rigidity of the system. This comparison is also presented in this article. The analysis of the material and 3D printing parameters are tested with Standard D638-14 probes used in a traction testing machine. After performing the traction test, the results are compared with FEA analysis. An optimal solution based on the experimental tests is proposed for the manufacture of the proposed gripper design.

Design and modelling of a two‐degrees‐of‐freedom dual‐rotor axial‐flux squirrel cage induction motor

AbstractA two‐degrees‐of‐freedom (2DOF) dual‐rotor axial‐flux induction motor (2DOF‐DRAFIM) is proposed with independent movement capability of rotors and its performance is evaluated in detail. First, using the analytical equations, the steady‐state model of the motor is presented and the electrical equivalent circuit is extracted along with an electromagnetic design algorithm for the proposed motor. In the next step, using two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional finite element modelling (FEM), the performance of the proposed motor is investigated. The results of the experimental measurements on the manufactured prototype confirm the validity of the results of theoretical modelling and finite element simulations. The proposed structure provides some unique features. One of the fascinating behaviours of the proposed 2DOF‐DRAFIM is that the higher‐speed rotor produces higher output torque and the lower‐speed rotor has lower torque. In this regard, the 2DOF structure can be considered a potential concept for electric vehicles (EVs) without needing a conventional mechanical differential.

Comparison of EMG activity in shank muscles between individuals with and without chronic ankle instability when running on a treadmill

Changes in movement capabilities after an injury to the ankle may impose adaptations in the peripheral and central nervous system. The purpose of our study was to compare the electromyogram (EMG) profile of ankle stabilizer muscles and stride-time variation during treadmill running in individuals with and without chronic ankle instability (CAI). Recreationally active individuals with (n=12) and without (n=15) CAI ran on a treadmill at two speeds. EMG activity of four shank muscles as well as tibial acceleration data were recorded during the running trials. EMG amplitude, timing of EMG peaks, and variation in stride-time were analyzed from 30 consecutive stride cycles. EMG data were time-normalized to stride duration and amplitude was normalized relative to the appropriate maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) task. Individuals with CAI had similar EMG amplitudes and peak timing, but an altered order of peak EMG activity in ankle stabilizer muscles, a significantly greater EMG amplitude for PL with an increase in speed, and a greater stride-time variability during treadmill running compared with individuals who had no history of ankle sprains. The results of our study indicate that individuals with CAI exhibit altered activation strategies for ankle stabilizer muscles when running on a treadmill.