This study examined age and sex differences of controlled force exertion in 207 males and 249 females aged 15 to 86 years. The subjects matched the submaximal grip strength of their dominant hand to changing demand values, appearing as a sinusoidal waveform on the display of a personal computer. The total difference (%) between the demand value and the grip exertion value for 25 sec was used as...

Attentional focus during aerobic exercise has been studied in the context of sports performance, injury prevention and affective experience. Previous research suggests that an additional mental task parallel to physical activity might influence experience performance. It tested if attentional influences cardiovascular activity, positive/negative affect, subjective exertion a cycling exercise. D...

Continuous steering movement (CSM) of the upper extremity (UE) is an essential component of steering movement during vehicle driving. This study presents an integrated approach to examine the force exertion and movement pattern during CSM. We utilized a concept similar to the isokinetic dynamometer to measure the torque profiles during 180°/s constant-velocity CSM. During a steering cycle, the ...

Current trends in industry are leaning towards specialized production systems and sedentary computer work tasks that are associated with low and less varying mechanical exposures. It has been suggested that physical variation is an effective intervention to reduce local fatigue and potentially musculoskeletal disorders. However, little is known in how the differences between physical variation ...

This research focuses on improved force-reflecting teleoperation system control in free motion and contact tasks. Specifically, the Naturally-Transitioning Rate-to-Force Controller (NTRFC) is implemented in an Air Force experimental force-reflecting teleoperation system to: 1) achieve a unified controller with no mode switches from free motion to contact; and 2) reduce the wrench exerted on the...

The application of soft actuators has become increasingly common in wearable devices. In this study, we investigated the force characteristics made entirely elastic material, when equipped with solid external chamber plates varying thickness that can be attached from outside. This study examines effect these on a fully silicone-based fifteen-chamber actuator without any non-stretchable internal...