Custom hexapod robot platform for a mobile machine simulator

该研究计划的重点是减少与工作有关的肌肉骨骼损伤。加拿大最常见的工伤类别，2007年由工作场所，安全和保险委员会支付给安大略受伤工人的福利费用刚刚超过49亿美元，背部和颈部疾病占损失时间索赔的29%。该计划涵盖了从相对基础到可商业化的应用工作的广泛范围，涉及两个主要研究领域：工业移动的机器操作员的全身振动（WBV）理解和减少，以及操纵杆操作员生物力学。最初的工作导致最全面的描述肌肉负荷和输入力的要求，液压驱动操纵杆的日期。由于了解操纵杆操作的物理和生物力学要求，奥利弗的小组开发了世界上第一个动态扶手，既旋转又平移，以匹配自然的手臂摆动，从而最大限度地减少了颈部或肩部重复性劳损的可能性。在振动研究领域，奥利弗和她的同事们对6自由度（DOF）WBV和车辆振动的表征做出了重大贡献。该小组在这一领域发表了大量文章，他们积累了越野车辆振动场分布世界上最多样化的目录之一。本建议的目的是开发仪器，这将“合并”的振动和操纵杆生物力学研究线，开发一个模拟器，使用基于场的振动配置文件驱动六足平台机器人，而操作员操纵操纵杆控制器。 最终，模拟器将结合视觉和触觉反馈，如将看到和感觉到在一个操作机器，它将允许同时调查的组合，生物力学，生理学和心理物理学的基本和应用研究问题在现实的操作条件下。

The research program is focused on reducing work related musculoskeletal injuries. The most commonly diagnosed workplace injury class in Canada today, the benefit cost paid by the Workplace, Safety and Insurance Board to Ontario injured workers in 2007 was just over 4.9 billion dollars with back and neck ailments accounting for just under 29% of lost time claims. Covering a broad spectrum ranging from relatively basic to commercializable applied work, the program involves two primary research lines: whole-body vibration (WBV) understanding and reduction in industrial mobile machine operators, and joystick operator biomechanics. Initial work resulted in the most comprehensive description to date of muscular loading and input force requirements for hydraulic actuation joysticks. As a result of understanding the physical and biomechanical demands of joystick operation, Oliver's group developed the world's first dynamic armrest which both rotates and translates to match natural arm pendulation thus minimizing the potential to develop a neck or shoulder repetitive strain injury. In the vibration research line, Oliver and her colleagues have made major contributions to the characterization of 6 degree of freedom (DOF) WBV and vehicle vibration. The group has published widely in this area and they have amassed one of the most diverse catalogs in the world of off-road vehicle vibration field profiles. The purpose of this proposal is to develop instrumentation which will "merge" the vibration and joystick biomechanics research lines by developing a simulator which uses field based vibration profiles to drive a hexapod platform robot while an operator manipulates joystick controllers. Ultimately, the simulator will incorporate visual as well as haptic feedback such as would be seen and felt in an operating machine and it will allow simultaneous investigations of combinations of biomechanical, physiological, and psychophysical basic and applied research questions under realistic operating conditions.