Giovanni Gerardo Muscolo

Cable-driven mechanism models are, usually, included in actuated systems; however, recently, their use for sensitive systems has been explored. In this paper, two cable-driven multi-body mechanism models are compared, underlining advantages and constraints in using sensitive cable-driven mechanisms for minimally invasive robotic instruments. The proposed approach could be useful in bypassing sterilization problems for surgical robotic instruments because our system allows for the separation of the robotic sterilizable part from the sensitive-actuated part of the surgical instrument. The real implementation of the proposed mechanism models, presented partially in other works, are validated in this paper, performing a simulation using a multi-body environment. Results confirm the feasibility of the proposed sensitive-actuated approach, defining new bases for the next challenges of the future.

Research has demonstrated that Taekwondo training helps to enhance the coordination capabilities in people with developmental coordination disorders. These excellent results depend on many factors, including the behavior of the muscular activation patterns of psychomotor exercises during Taekwondo training. Our basic idea is to study the behavior of the muscular activation pattern of Taekwondo training (performed by athletes) and to apply the adapted behavior of the muscular activation pattern to other subjects with reduced coordination capabilities to enhance them, in line with the sustainable human development goals. This paper presents a preliminary feasibility study and a first step in this direction using a virtual simulation. First, the Taekwondo front-kick exercise was studied and reproduced using a virtual human model in OpenSim. Second, some perturbations were applied to the virtual human model to analyze the behavior of the muscular activation patterns. Third, functional electrical stimulation (FES) patterns were properly simulated to reproduce the same sequence (and value) of signals of muscular activation in another subject. The proposed methodology was conceived on the basis of a simple example of a Taekwondo kick by using a virtual human model, but its general application can fit all kinds of psychomotor exercises. If future works confirm the simulation results presented in this paper with real implementation, the methodology proposed here could be applied every time human capabilities must be increased with or without sports training (e.g., remaining seated on a chair or lying on a bed).