BACKGROUND Minimum toe clearance is a critical gait event because it coincides with peak forward velocity of the swing foot, and thus, there is an increased risk of tripping and falling. Trans-tibial amputees have increased risk of tripping compared to able-bodied individuals. Assessment of toe clearance during gait is thus clinically relevant. In able-bodied gait, minimum toe clearance increas...

Template models can help to demonstrate and prove concepts on human locomotion such as the spring-mass model [1]. Since biarticular muscles may have specific tasks in walking [2], their action during the swing phase is investigated in this study. A new model is presented to describe the swing leg motion (Fig .1). The goal is to identify the role of elastic biarticular muscles on swing leg dynam...

We investigated which of cat limb kinematic variables during swing of regular walking and accurate stepping along a horizontal ladder are stabilized by coordinated changes of limb segment angles. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) animals stabilize the entire swing trajectory of specific kinematic variables (performance variables); and 2) the level of trajectory stabilization is similar between r...

In this paper we describe the development of a three-dimensional (3D) imaging system for a 3500 tonne mining machine (dragline). Draglines are large walking cranes used for removing the dirt that covers a coal seam. Our group has been developing a dragline swing automation system since 1994. The system so far has been “blind” to its external environment. The work presented in this paper attempt...

The novel fixed (non-vibrating) Volta potential probe was evaluated in comparison with the standard, vibrating (400 Hz) commercial Kelvin probe. While both tested probes demonstrated the similar behavior, there were significant practical advantages of the novel probe. Specifically, the novel probe allows for the elevated distance to the surface and provides more sensitivity to charge under the ...

This study details an optimization of the golf swing, where the hand path and club angular trajectories are manipulated. The optimization goal was to maximize club head velocity at impact within the interaction kinetic limitations (force, torque, work, and power) of the golfer as determined through the analysis of a typical swing using a two-dimensional dynamic model. The study was applied to f...

Pricing options on electrical power is important because of the worldwide trend toward deregulated electricity markets. It is fascinating because of the exotic nature of most power derivatives and because of the many unique features of electricity markets. One of these unique features is that electrical power cannot, in appreciable quantities, be stored. While this plays havoc with arbitrage-fr...

Swing options give contract holders the right to modify amounts of future delivery of certain commodities, such as electricity or gas. We assume that these options can be exercised at any time before the end of the contract, and more than once. However, a recovery time between any two consecutive exercise dates is incorporated as a constraint to avoid continuous exercise. We introduce an effici...

By pure analogy with a usual three-dimensional origami, we can fold a regular octahedral material along flat faces in 4-space. The octahedron comprises four congruent tetrahedra. We will show a procedure to fold a tetrahedron along bisectors of the dihedral angles. This procedure demonstrates that each two of four surfaces of the given tetrahedron coincide with each other and that the point of ...

Twenty percent of the 6,400,000 stroke survivors alive today [1] are unable to dorsiflex the ankle [2], causing the foot to drag along the floor during swing. This can limit mobility, increasing instability and risk of tripping or falling [3]. The traditional treatment for foot drop is an ankle foot orthosis that holds the ankle in a neutral position during swing, preventing toe drag. An altern...