Grip and load force coordination in cyclical isometric manipulation task is not affected by the feedback type

Background: The relationship between normal and tangential force components (grip force - GF and load force - LF, respectively) acting on the digits-object interface during object manipulation reveals neural mechanisms involved in movement control. Here, we examined whether the feedback type provided to the participants during exertion of LF would influence GF-LF coordination and task performance. Methods. Sixteen young (24.7 ±3.8 years-old) volunteers isometrically exerted continuously sinusoidal FZ (vertical component of LF) by pulling a fixed instrumented handle up and relaxing under two feedback conditions: targeting and tracking. In targeting condition, FZ exertion range was determined by horizontal lines representing the upper (10 N) and lower (1 N) targets, with frequency (0.77 or 1.53 Hz) dictated by a metronome. In tracking condition, a sinusoidal template set at similar frequencies and range was presented and should be superposed by the participants' exerted FZ. Task performance was assessed by absolute errors at peaks (AEPeak) and valleys (AEValley) and GF-LF coordination by GF-LF ratios, maximum cross-correlation coefficients (r max), and time lags. Results: The results revealed no effect of feedback and no feedback by frequency interaction on any variable. AE Peak and GF-LF ratio were higher and rmax lower at 1.53 Hz than at 0.77 Hz. Conclusion: These findings indicate that the type of feedback does not influence task performance and GF-LF coordination. Therefore, we recommend the use of tracking tasks when assessing GF-LF coordination during isometric LF exertion in externally fixed instrumented handles because they are easier to understand and provide additional indices (e.g., RMSE) of voluntary force control. © 2013 Pedão et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Penalty-based nonlinear solver for optimal reactive power dispatch with discrete controls

The optimal reactive dispatch problem is a nonlinear programming problem containing continuous and discrete control variables. Owing to the difficulty caused by discrete variables, this problem is usually solved assuming all variables as continuous variables, therefore the original discrete variables are rounded off to the closest discrete value. This approach may provide solutions far from optimal or even unfeasible solutions. This paper presents an efficient handling of discrete variables by penalty function so that the problem becomes continuous and differentiable. Simulations with the IEEE test systems were performed showing the efficiency of the proposed approach. © 1969-2012 IEEE.

On switched control design of linear time-invariant systems with polytopic uncertainties

This paper proposes a new switched control design method for some classes of linear time-invariant systems with polytopic uncertainties. This method uses a quadratic Lyapunov function to design the feedback controller gains based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The controller gain is chosen by a switching law that returns the smallest value of the time derivative of the Lyapunov function. The proposed methodology offers less conservative alternative than the well-known controller for uncertain systems with only one state feedback gain. The control design of a magnetic levitator illustrates the procedure. © 2013 Wallysonn A. de Souza et al.

Influence of visual feedback sampling on obstacle crossing behavior in people with Parkinson's disease

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the role of visual information on gait control in people with Parkinson's disease as they crossed over obstacles. Twelve healthy individuals, and 12 patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease, walked at their preferred speeds along a walkway and stepped over obstacles of varying heights (ankle height or half-knee height), under three visual sampling conditions: dynamic (normal lighting), static (static visual samples, similar to stroboscopic lighting), and voluntary visual sampling. Subjects wore liquid crystal glasses for visual manipulation. In the static visual sampling condition only, the patients with Parkinson's disease made contact with the obstacle more often than did the control subjects. In the successful trials, the patients increased their crossing step width in the static visual sampling condition as compared to the dynamic and voluntary visual sampling conditions; the control group maintained the same step width for all visual sampling conditions. The patients showed lower horizontal mean velocity values during obstacle crossing than did the controls. The patients with Parkinson's disease were more dependent on optic flow information for successful task and postural stability than were the control subjects. Bradykinesia influenced obstacle crossing in the patients with Parkinson's disease. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Observer-based control design for switched affine systems and applications to DC-DC converters

This paper deals with the problem of establishing a state estimator for switched affine systems. For that matter, a modification on the Luenberger observer is proposed, the switched Luenberger observer, whose idea is to design one output gain matrix for each mode of the original system. The efficiency of the proposed method relies on a simplification on estimation error which is proved always valid, guaranteeing the estimation error to asymptotically converge to zero, for any initial state and switching law. Next, a dynamic output-dependent switching law is formulated. Then, design methodologies using linear matrix inequalities are proposed, which, to the authors's knowledge, have not yet been applied to this problem. Finally, observers for DC-DC converters are designed and simulated as application examples. © 2013 Brazilian Society for Automatics - SBA.

Controle ótimo H 'INFINITO' com modificação de zeros para o problema de rastreamento em sistemas discretos usando LMI

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Controle ativo de vibrações em estruturas espaciais tipo treliças usando controladores IMSC

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Projeto de Controladores Robustos H∞ para Sistemas Discretos Utilizando Modificação de Zeros

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica - FEIS

MODEL-BASED COMPENSATION FOR BURST MESSAGE LOSS IN WIRELESS NETWORKED CONTROL SYSTEMS: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

A recent trend in networked control systems (NCSs) is the use of wireless networks enabling interoperability between existing wired and wireless systems. One of the major challenges in these wireless NCSs (WNCSs) is to overcome the impact of the message loss that degrades the performance and stability of these systems. Moreover, this impact is greater when dealing with burst or successive message losses. This paper discusses and presents the experimental results of a compensation strategy to deal with this burst message loss problem in which a NCS mathematical model runs in parallel with the physical process, providing sensor virtual data in case of packet losses. Running in real-time inside the controller, the mathematical model is updated online with real control signals sent to the actuator, which provides better reliability for the estimated sensor feedback (virtual data) transmitted to the controller each time a message loss occurs. In order to verify the advantages of applying this model-based compensation strategy for burst message losses in WNCSs, the control performance of a motor control system using CAN and ZigBee networks is analyzed. Experimental results led to the conclusion that the developed compensation strategy provided robustness and could maintain the control performance of the WNCS against different message loss scenarios.

Economic design of Shewhart control charts for monitoring autocorrelated data with skip sampling strategies

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Robust Switched Control Design for Nonlinear Systems Using Fuzzy Models

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Writing saturated holograms in LiNbO3 crystals through phase control and double diffraction

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

An unequivocal normalization-based paradigm to solve dynamic economic and emission active-reactive OPF (optimal power flow)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Glucose biosensor based on multisegment nanowires exhibiting reversible magnetic control

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Double-objective economic statistical design of the VP T-2 control chart: Wald's identity approach

Research has shown that applying the T-2 control chart by using a variable parameters (VP) scheme yields rapid detection of out-of-control states. In this paper, the problem of economic statistical design of the VP T-2 control chart is considered as a double-objective minimization problem with the statistical objective being the adjusted average time to signal and the economic objective being expected cost per hour. We then find the Pareto-optimal designs in which the two objectives are met simultaneously by using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. Through an illustrative example, we show that relatively large benefits can be achieved by applying the VP scheme when compared with usual schemes, and in addition, the multi-objective approach provides the user with designs that are flexible and adaptive.