Accuracy of Visual Estimates of Joint Angle and Angular Velocity Using Criterion Movements

2005 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Morrison ◽  
Colby Clayburn ◽  
Duane Knudson ◽  
Philip Haywood

A descriptive study to document undergraduate physical education majors' (22.8 ± 2.4 yr. old) estimates of sagittal plane elbow angle and angular velocity of elbow flexion visually was performed. 42 subjects rated videotape replays of 30 movements organized into three speeds of movement and two criterion elbow angles. Video images of the movements were analyzed with Peak Motus™ to measure actual values of elbow angles and peak angular velocity. Of the subjects 85.7% had speed ratings significantly correlated with true peak elbow angular velocity in all three angular velocity conditions. Few (16.7%) subjects' ratings of elbow angle correlated significantly with actual angles. Analysis of the subjects with good ratings showed the accuracy of visual ratings was significantly related to speed, with decreasing accuracy for slower speeds of movement. The use of criterion movements did not improve the small percentage of novice observers who could accurately estimate body angles during movement.

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 413-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davis A. Forman ◽  
Daniel Abdel-Malek ◽  
Christopher M. F. Bunce ◽  
Michael W. R. Holmes

Forearm rotation (supination/pronation) alters corticospinal excitability to the biceps brachii, but it is unclear whether corticospinal excitability is influenced by joint angle, muscle length, or both. Thus the purpose of this study was to separately examine elbow joint angle and muscle length on corticospinal excitability. Corticospinal excitability to the biceps and triceps brachii was measured using motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited via transcranial magnetic stimulation. Spinal excitability was measured using cervicomedullary motor evoked potentials (CMEPs) elicited via transmastoid electrical stimulation. Elbow angles were manipulated with a fixed biceps brachii muscle length (and vice versa) across five unique postures: 1) forearm neutral, elbow flexion 90°; 2) forearm supinated, elbow flexion 90°; 3) forearm pronated, elbow flexion 90°; 4) forearm supinated, elbow flexion 78°; and 5) forearm pronated, elbow flexion 113°. A musculoskeletal model determined biceps brachii muscle length for postures 1–3, and elbow joint angles ( postures 4–5) were selected to maintain biceps length across forearm orientations. MEPs and CMEPs were elicited at rest and during an isometric contraction of 10% of maximal biceps muscle activity. At rest, MEP amplitudes to the biceps were largest during supination, which was independent of elbow joint angle. CMEP amplitudes were not different when the elbow was fixed at 90° but were largest in pronation when muscle length was controlled. During an isometric contraction, there were no significant differences across forearm postures for either MEP or CMEP amplitudes. These results highlight that elbow joint angle and biceps brachii muscle length can each independently influence spinal excitability. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Changes in upper limb posture can influence the responsiveness of the central nervous system to artificial stimulations. We established a novel approach integrating neurophysiology techniques with biomechanical modeling. Through this approach, the effects of elbow joint angle and biceps brachii muscle length on corticospinal and spinal excitability were assessed. We demonstrate that spinal excitability is uniquely influenced by joint angle and muscle length, and this highlights the importance of accounting for muscle length in neurophysiological studies.


1984 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 583-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy B. Zakrajsek ◽  
Rebecca L. Johnson ◽  
Diane B. Walker

Learning styles of dance and physical education majors were described and compared. Subjects were 167 declared majors in 1982 from 9 universities (87 PE, 80 dance; 44 males, 115 females). Kolb's Learning Style Inventory which measures abstractness or concreteness and activity or reflectivity was given. By t test (.05) no significant differences in preferred learning style were found between majors or genders.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 172988141773189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taihui Zhang ◽  
Honglei An ◽  
Hongxu Ma

Hydraulic actuated quadruped robot similar to BigDog has two primary performance requirements, load capacity and walking speed, so that it is necessary to balance joint torque and joint velocity when designing the dimension of single leg and controlling its motion. On the one hand, because there are three joints per leg on sagittal plane, it is necessary to firstly optimize the distribution of torque and angular velocity of every joint on the basis of their different requirements. On the other hand, because the performance of hydraulic actuator is limited, it is significant to keep the joint torque and angular velocity in actuator physical limitations. Therefore, it is essential to balance the joint torque and angular velocity which have negative correlation under the condition of constant power of the hydraulic actuator. The main purpose of this article is to optimize the distribution of joint torques and velocity of a redundant single leg with joint physical limitations. Firstly, a modified optimization criterion combining joint torques with angular velocity that takes both support phase and flight phase into account is proposed, and then the modified optimization criterion is converted into a normal quadratic programming problem. A kind of recurrent neural network is used to solve the quadratic program problem. This method avoids tremendous matrix inversion and fits for time-varying system. The achieved optimized distribution of joint torques and velocity is useful for aiding mechanical design and the following motion control. Simulation results presented in this article confirm the efficiency of this optimization algorithm.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Smith ◽  
Edward E. Brown

This work examines two different types of myoelectric control schemes for the purpose of rehabilitation robot applications. The first is a commonly used technique based on a Gaussian classifier. It is implemented in real time for healthy subjects in addition to a subject with Central Cord Syndrome (CCS). The myoelectric control scheme is used to control three degrees of freedom (DOF) on a robot manipulator which corresponded to the robot's elbow joint, wrist joint, and gripper. The classes of motion controlled include elbow flexion and extension, wrist pronation and supination, hand grasping and releasing, and rest. Healthy subjects were able to achieve 90% accuracy. Single DOF controllers were first tested on the subject with CCS and he achieved 100%, 96%, and 85% accuracy for the elbow, gripper, and wrist controllers respectively. Secondly, he was able to control the three DOF controller at 68% accuracy. The potential applications for this scheme are rehabilitation and teleoperation. To overcome limitations in the pattern recognition based scheme, a second myoelectric control scheme is also presented which is trained using electromyographic (EMG) data derived from natural reaching motions in the sagittal plane. This second scheme is based on a time delayed neural network (TDNN) which has the ability to control multiple DOF at once. The controller tracked a subject's elbow and shoulder joints in the sagittal plane. Results showed an average error of 19° for the two joints. This myoelectric control scheme has the potential of being used in the development of exoskeleton and orthotic rehabilitation applications.


Author(s):  
Vishesh Vikas ◽  
Carl D. Crane

Knowledge of joint angles, angular velocities is essential for control of link mechanisms and robots. The estimation of joint angles and angular velocity is performed using combination of inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) which are contactless and flexible at point of application. Different estimation techniques are used to fuse data from different inertial sensors. Bio-inspired sensors using symmetrically placed multiple inertial sensors are capable of instantaneously measuring joint parameters (joint angle, angular velocities and angular acceleration) without use of any estimation techniques. Calibration of inertial sensors is easier and more reliable for accelerometers as compared to gyroscopes. The research presents gyroscope-less, multiple accelerometer and magnetometer based sensors capable of measuring (not estimating) joint parameters. The contribution of the improved sensor are four-fold. Firstly, the inertial sensors are devoid of symmetry constraint unlike the previously researched bio-inspired sensors. However, the accelerometer are non-coplanarly placed. Secondly, the accelerometer-magnetometer combination sensor allows for calculation of a unique rotation matrix between two link joined by any kind of joint. Thirdly, the sensors are easier to calibrate as they consist only of accelerometers. Finally, the sensors allow for calculation of angular velocity and angular acceleration without use of gyroscopes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (83) ◽  
pp. 45-53
Author(s):  
Wiesław Chwała ◽  
Wacław Mirek ◽  
Andrzej Klimek ◽  
Krzysztof Mirek

Aim. The aim of the study is to characterise and compare the values of angle changes within the lower limb joints in the sagittal plane and spatial pelvic movements while running in minimalist and neutral footwear. Materials and methods. Research was carried out among a group of 13 participants (6 men and 7 women), highly qualified male and female athletes from the AZS AWF (University of Physical Education) Kraków club. Registration of the run and analysis of the results was performed using spatial motion analysis via the Vicon system with speeds at 3.94±0.45 m/s for men and 3.97±0.32 m/s for women, and 3.91±057 m/s and 4.1±0.36 m/s for men and women, respectively, in the group of highly qualified athletes. Results. At the initial point of foot contact with the ground, the minimalist footwear run was characterised by greater plantar flexion totalling about 5º compared to the run in neutral footwear. There was also a 8º higher value of dorsiflexion during the amortisation phase and a lower value by approx. 5º during the swing phase in this joint when running in minimalist footwear. In the knee joint, a value of about 6º higher flexion was observed during the amortisation phase when running in minimalist footwear. Differences in hip joint angle of approximately 6-8º were found during maximal extension of the joint during the final rebound phase. Spatial pelvic movements were similar during runs in both types of footwear. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate that some of the amortisation and driving force tasks are taken over by the sports footwear. During the run in minimalist footwear, a key role in the field of body amortisation is played by the increased range of knee flexion, while during the rebound phase, the increased range of hip joint extension predominates.


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