Tesi sul tema "Passive human joint models"

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a disease in which the body has "turned on itself", with its immune system attacking mobility. In RA, an immune mechanism attacks and destroys the joints and limits mobility, in some circumstances to the point of needing replacement of joints. The aim of this research is the development of a less costly, widely accessible, passive sensing technology that provides a quantitative assessment of RA and that monitors the therapeutic effectiveness on joint-debilitating diseases. The proposed solution relies on a quantitative evaluation of human gestures. Such a quantitative assessment supports the comparison between the motion capabilities of a patient and that of a healthy person, using a kinematic model of the human skeleton. Criteria for the classification of severity were established, and tables were generated to classify the levels of severity as a function of the measurements extracted from processed videos of a subject performing predefined movements. This research project, while contributing a new tool to the process of classification of RA level of severity, opens the way for using widely accessible digital imaging for diagnosing and monitoring the evolution of the illness. Replacing MRI or HRUS with a cheaper and more accessible technology would have a major impact on health care services. From the clinical point of view, the proposed techniques based on digital images processing combined with a monitoring approach based on infrared images that was previously developed may provide a utility of care for patients with RA, as well as an alternative and automated approach for early detection of RA and active inflammation at a critical time.

Ces dernières années, l’interaction physique humain-robot est devenue un sujet de recherche important, par exemple pour des applications de rééducation. Cette thèse vise à améliorer ces interactions, dans le cadre du développement de contrôleurs basés modèles, par des approches d’identification paramétrique des modèles des systèmes en interaction. Le but est de développer des méthodes d’identification en tenant compte de la variabilité et de la complexité du corps humain, et en n'utilisant que les capteurs du système robotique pour éviter l'ajout de capteurs externes. Les différentes approches présentées dans cette thèse sont testées expérimentalement avec un système robotique à un degré de liberté (1-DDL) permettant d'interagir avec la main d'une personne.Après un 1er chapitre présentant l'état de l'art, le 2e chapitre aborde les méthodes d'identification développées en robotique ainsi que la problématique du filtrage, analysée en simulation et expérimentalement. La question du réglage du filtre passe-bas est adressée, et en particulier le choix de la fréquence de coupure qui reste délicate pour un système non-linéaire. Pour surmonter ces difficultés, une technique de filtrage utilisant un filtre de Kalman étendu (EKF) est développée à partir du modèle dynamique du robot. La formulation EKF proposée permet un réglage en fonction des propriétés connues du capteur et de la confiance dans l’estimation initiale des paramètres. Cette méthode est comparée en simulation puis expérimentalement avec différentes méthodes existantes en analysant la sensibilité à l’initialisation et au réglage du filtre. Les résultats montrent que la méthode proposée est prometteuse si l’EKF est correctement réglé.Le 3e chapitre porte sur l'identification en continu des paramètres du modèle dynamique d'un système passif en interaction avec un système robotique, en combinant des méthodes d’identification de la charge utile avec des algorithmes en ligne, sans capteurs externes. Ces méthodes sont validées en simulation et expérimentalement en utilisant le système à 1-DDL dont la poignée est attachée à des bandes élastiques pour imiter une articulation humaine passive. L’analyse de l’effet de l’ajustement des méthodes en ligne met en évidence qu’un compromis est nécessaire entre la vitesse de convergence et la précision des estimations des paramètres. Enfin, la comparaison des méthodes d’identification de la charge utile montre que les méthodes identifiant séparément les paramètres du système robotique et de l’humain passif donnent une meilleure précision et une plus faible complexité de calcul.Le 4e chapitre porte sur l'identification durant l'interaction humain-système robotique. Un modèle à raideur quadratique est proposé afin de mieux représenter le comportement de l’articulation humaine passive qu’un modèle linéaire. Par la suite, ce modèle est utilisé avec une méthode d’identification itérative basée sur le rejet d’outliers, pour détecter l’activité musculaire de l’humain sans capteurs externes. Cette méthode est comparée expérimentalement à une méthode non-itérative utilisant des signaux d’électromyographie (EMG), en adaptant le système à 1-DDL pour interagir avec le poignet et permettre d’évaluer l’activité des muscles fléchisseurs et extenseurs de deux sujets. La méthode itérative proposée sans signaux EMG donne des résultats proches de ceux obtenus avec la méthode utilisant les signaux EMG lorsqu’un modèle représentant bien le comportement de l’articulation humaine passive est choisi. Les résultats de détection de l’activité musculaire obtenus avec ces deux méthodes montrent un niveau de similarité satisfaisant avec ceux obtenus directement à partir des signaux EMG
Over the last years, physical human-robot interaction has become an important research subject, for example for rehabilitation applications. This PhD aims at improving these interactions, as part of model-based controllers development, using parametric identification approaches to identify models of the systems in interaction. The goal is to develop identification methods taking into account the variability and complexity of the human body, and only using the sensor of the robotic system to avoid adding external sensors. The different approaches presented in this thesis are tested experimentally on a one degree of freedom (1-DOF) system allowing the interaction with a person’s hand.After a 1st chapter presenting the state-of-the-art, the 2nd chapter tackles the identification methods developed in robotics as well as the issue of data filtering, analyzed both in simulation and experimentally. The question of the low-pass filter tuning is addressed, and in particular the choice of the cut-off frequency which remains delicate for a nonlinear system. To overcome these difficulties, a filtering technique using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) is developed from the robot dynamic model. The proposed EKF formulation allows a filter tuning depending on the known properties of the sensor and on the confidence on the initial parameters estimations. This method is compared in simulation and experimentally to different existing methods by analyzing its sensitivity to initialization and filter tuning. Results show that the proposed method is promising if the EKF is correctly tuned.The 3rd chapter concerns the continuous identification of the parameters of the model of a passive system interacting with a robotic system, by combining payload identification methods with online identification algorithms, without external sensors. These methods are validated in simulation and experimentally with the 1-DOF system whose handle is attached to elastic rubber bands to emulate a passive human joint. The analysis of the effects of the online methods tuning highlights a necessary trade-off between the convergence speed and the accuracy of the parameters estimates. Finally, the comparison of the payload identification methods shows that methods identifying separately the robotic system and the passive human parameters give better accuracy and a lower computation complexity.The 4th chapter deals with the identification during the human-robot interaction. A quadratic stiffness model is proposed to better fit the passive human joint behavior than a linear stiffness model. Then, this model is used with an iterative identification method based on outlier rejection technique, to detect the human user muscle activity without external sensors. This method is compared experimentally to a non-iterative method that uses electromyography (EMG), by adapting the 1-DOF system to interact with the wrist and to allow the detection of the flexor and extensor muscle activity of two human users. The proposed iterative identification method not using EMG signals achieves results close to those obtained with the non-iterative method using EMG signals when a model that correctly represents the passive human joint behavior is selected. The muscle activity detection results obtained with both methods show a satisfactory level of similarity compared to those obtained directly from EMG signals

The role of the monosynaptic stretch reflex in the realm of human motor activity has been controversial for many years. A non-linear parallel-cascade system identification technique was recently developed to non-invasively elucidate the ankle reflex dynamics. Identification of these dynamics requires the application of stochastic signals to the ankle joint. The stretch reflex is known to be highly modulated and attenuated during on-going cyclical movements and passively applied perturbations. The aim of this study was to investigate these effects.
The stretch reflex gain was found to decrease progressively as the average velocity of the applied movement increased. The velocity-mediated effects were a function of the amplitude distribution characteristics, rather than the spectral properties, of the applied motion. The experiments confirmed that although the stretch reflex response is large enough to be important its effects will depend on the functional context.

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the net passive elastic joint moment and the angular damping coefficient of the human knee joint in full range flexion-extension. A secondary purpose was to develop regression equations to predict the measured passive properties from anthropometric data. The passive elastic moments increased exponentially as the limits of either flexion or extension were approached. The midrange of joint motion was a low moment (5 N$\cdot$m), low stiffness region. Considerable variability in the magnitudes of the passive elastic moments existed across subjects. At 140$\sp\circ$ of flexion, between about 5 N$\cdot$m and 86 N$\cdot$m was measured while the range at full extension (0$\sp\circ$) was about 6 N$\cdot$m to 22 N$\cdot$m. The angular damping coefficient was a nonlinear function (approximately quadratic) of the knee joint angle. The variability was not quite as high compared to the elastic component. Application of the data to the late swing phase of walking indicated that, for some subjects, the passive moments may contribute (or oppose) significantly to the net joint moment. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science) Naval Postgraduate School, March 1999.
Thesis advisor(s): Robert B. McGhee, Michael J. Zyda. "March 1999". Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-203). Also available online.

Studies of human response to whole-body vibration, such those encountered in heavy machinery and ground and aerial transportation, have highlighted the critical role of the head-neck posture of seated human occupants and the role of the transport system of a supine human on the severity of the transmitted vibration to the human body. Novel passive and muscle-based models are introduced in this work to predict the biodynamical response of the human under whole-body vibration in seated and supine postures. Planar and three-dimensional models representing the human head-neck system under different seated postures and fore-aft and multiple-axis whole-body vibration are first introduced. In these models, the head-neck system is represented by rigid links connected via spring-damper components representing the soft-tissue and connecting elements between the bones. Additional muscle components are added to some models. The muscle components comprise additional mass, spring, and damper elements arranged in a special order to capture the effect of changes in the displacement, velocity, acceleration, and jerk. The results show that the proposed models are able to predict the displacement and acceleration of the head under different vibration files, with the muscle-based models showing better performance than the passive models. The second set of models is introduced in this work to investigate the effect of the underlying transport system conditions on the response of supine humans under vertical and multiple-axis whole-body vibration. In these models, the supine human body is represented by three rigid links representing the head, torso/arms, and legs. The links are connected via rotational and translational joints, and therefore, it is expected that the models can capture the coupling effects between adjacent segments. The joints comprise translational and rotational spring-damper components that represent the soft tissue and the connecting elements between the segments. The contact surfaces between the supine human and the underlying transport system were modeled using spring-damper elements. Two underlying transport systems were considered, including a rigid support and a long spinal board attached to a military litter. The results showed that the proposed models were able to predict the effect of the transport systems on the human response under different vibration conditions.

Thesis (MScPhysio)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction-The golf swing is a complex, sequenced movement of body segments. This movement is smooth and well timed and is referred to as the kinematic golf sequence. This kinematic sequence illustrates the rotational speed, which occurs between the upper and lower body segments. Hip rotation plays an integral part to a sound kinematic sequence by providing a pivotal point between the upper and lower body segments, ensuring a synchronised golf swing. Hip rotation kinematics during a golf swing has received relatively little attention compared to other body segments’ movements. However, clinicians need to have a clear understanding of the rotational contribution that each hip make during golf swing in order to enhance the athlete’s performance and reduce the risk of injury. The aim of this descriptive research project was to obtain and investigate the total passive and total dynamic rotation range of movement in both the lead and trail hips of healthy, young adult, male golfers. Methodology-Seven, low handicapped, male golfers between the ages of 18 and 40 years were randomly selected in the Western Cape region from areas surrounding Stellenbosch University’s Tygerberg campus. A questionnaire gathered participant demographics that determined participatory eligibility. A preliminary reliability study established a baseline measurement for passive total articular hip rotation. Seatadjusted total passive hip rotation ranges of motion (ROM) measurements were collected with a hand-held inclinometer. Dynamic total hip rotation kinematic data was captured during a golf swing with an 8-camera video analysis system (VICON). Data analyses were performed with Statistica version 10. Hand-held inclinometer intra-rater reliability was determined with a two-way interclass correlation, standard error of measurement and a 95% confidence interval level. A Spearman correlation coefficient determined correlation between the total passive and total dynamic rotation range of movement in both the lead and trail hips. Results-Passive intra-rater reliability was reported as 0.81 (95% CI: 0.46-0.96). The total average passive articular range between the lead (62.1° ±6.4°) and trail hip (61.4° ±3.8°) did not report any significant difference (p=0.8). The total average dynamic golf swing articular range between the lead (29° ± 6.5°) and trail hip (35.° ±7.8°), was reported as significantly (p=0.04) asymmetric. The findings also demonstrated a positive correlation between the passive and dynamic total articular range in a lead hip, whereas a negative correlation was reported in a trail hip. During the golf swing the lead hip utilised 46.4%(± 8) of the total passive available hip rotation, whereas the trail hip utilised 58.8% (±13.2). Discussion and Conclusions-The findings of this study show that, the passive rotation ROM in a hip (LH=62°; TH=61°) of a golf player does not exceed the available range it has during a golf swing. The golfer’s hip utilises 46% of the available passive range of movement in the lead hip and 59% in the trail hip. In the clinical field careful consideration should be given to the motivation behind mobilizing, treating or stretching the hips of a golf player. These findings can be incorporated in future research on the relationship between hip-rotation ROM and reduction in the incidence of injuries amongst golfers.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding-Die gholfswaai is n komplekse, opeenvolgende beweging van verskeie liggaamsegmente. Hierdie gladde opeenvolgende bewegings word die kinematiese gholfpatron genoem. Hierdie kinematiese opeenvolgende bewegings bied ’n illustrastrasie van die rotasiespoed waarteen die beweging tussen die boonste en onderste liggaamsegmente plaasvind. Heuprotasie speel ’n deurslaggewende rol in hierdie glad verlopende kinematiese proses. Dit dien as ’n spilpunt tussend die boonste en onderste kwadrant, wat op sy beurt weer ’n gesinkroniseerde gholfswaai verseker. Die heuprotasie kinamtieka tydens n gholfswaai het relatief minder aandag ontvang in vergelyking met ander liggaamsegmente. Klinici moet instaat gestel word om ’n duidelike begrip aangaande die bydrae wat heuprotasie tydens ’n golfswaai lewer, te ontwikkel. Die atleet se prestasie kan sodoende verbeter word, en die risiko tot beserings kan ook sodoende voorkom word. Die doel van hierdie beskrywende navorsingsprojek was om te bepaal wat die totale passiewe en die totale dinamies rotasie omvang van die leidende en volgende heupe van gesonde jong mans wat gholf speel, te ondersoek. Metodologie-Sewe gholf-geskoolde manlike gholf spelers met ’n lae voorgee en tussen die ouderdom van 18 en 40 jaar is ewekansig gekies. Hierdie kandidate is gekies uit die omliggende gebiede van die Stellenbosch Tygerberg kampus in die Wes-Kaap waar hulle relatief naby woonagtig was. ’n Vraelys is aangewend om demografiese eienskappe van elke deelnemer in te samel. Hierdie inligting wat deur die vraelys bekom is, is gebruik om te bepaal of die deelnemers in aanmerking is vir die studie. ’n Voorlopige, intra-meter betroubaarheidstudie is gedoen vir passiewe, totale artikulêre heuprotasiemetings wat met ’n hand hanteerbare hoek meter geneem is. ’n Algemene fisiese ondersoek is in die biomeganiese labaratorium afgehandel om te bepaal of die deelnemers geskik is vir die toetse. Sit-aangepaste passiewe totale hip rotasie beweging metings was ingesamel met 'n hand hanteerbare hoek meter. Intra-meter betroubaarheid is bepaal met ’n twee-rigting interklas korrelasie, standaard foutmeting en ’n 95% vertroue interval vlak. Dinamiese totale heup kinematiese rotasiedata is afgeneem met ’n hoë-spoed 3-D videografiestelsel (VICON) tydens 'n gholfswaai. Data-ontleding is bereken met ’n Statistica weergawe 10. Die gemiddelde en Spearman korrelasie koëffisiënt is gebruik as aanwysers van verspreiding. Resultate-Passiewe inter-meter betroubaarheid word geraporteer as 0.81 (95% KI: 0.46-0.96). Die resultate dui op ’n onbeduidende totale passiewe artikulêre reeks verskille tussen die leidende (voorste) (62.1 ± 6.4 °) en volgende (agterste) heupe (61.4 ° ± 3.8 °). ’n Beduidende totale dinamiese artikulêre reeks van die leidende (29 ° ± 6.5 °) en volgende heupe (35.9 ° ± 7.8 °) is tydens die gholfswaai bereik. Verdere resultate toon ’n positiewe korrelasie tussen die passiewe en dinamiese totale artikulêre reeks in die leidende heup, terwyl ’n negatiewe korrelasie gerapporteer word vir die volgende (agterste) heup. Tydens ’n gholfswaai gebruik die leidende heup 46.4% (± 8%) van die totale passiewe beskikbaar heuprotasie, terwyl die opvolgende (agterste) heup 58.8% (± 13.2%) aanwend. Bespreking en gevolgtrekking-Die bevindinge van hierdie studie toon dat tydens ’n gholfswaai, ’n gesonde gholfspeler nie die beskikbare passiewe beweging wat in sy heup bestaan oorskry nie. Slegs 46.4% van die beskikbare passiewe beweging in sy leidende heup word gebruik, en 58.8% van sy agterste heup. Die klinisie moet deeglike oorweging gegee word aan die motivering agter die mobilisering, strekke en die behandeling van die heupe van ’n gholfspeler. Hierdie bevindings kan in toekomstige navorsing geimplimenteer word om die verhouding wat tussen die omvange vand heuprotasie bestaan te ondersoek. Die voorkoming van moontlike toekomstige beserings in gholfspelers kan ook verhoed word.

Pre-performance routines commonly include stretching and intense muscular contractions in an attempt to optimise muscular performance and reduce injury risk. However, the isolated and combined effects of stretching and muscle contractions on neuromuscular performance are not well described. The aims of this research were to examine the effects of acute static stretch and intense muscular contractions on force production of the human plantarflexors and to examine possible mechanical and neuromuscular mechanisms underpinning any changes. Techniques including isokinetic dynamometry, electromyography (EMG), sonography and motion analysis were used in three studies on recreationally active human volunteers (n=20). In the first study, three 60-s passive stretches was found to significantly reduce concentric plantarflexor joint moment (5.0%; P<0.05), which was correlated (r = 0.81; P<0.01) with a reduction in EMG amplitude (9.2%; P<0.05). No reduction in Achilles tendon stiffness or gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle operating length was found, and all measures recovered by 30 min. This indicates that post-stretch force losses are transient and are largely associated with reduced neuromuscular activity (EMG amplitude) rather than changes in the muscles’ operating lengths. Nonetheless, strong muscular contractions, commonly performed during preperformance routines and incorporated into research designs, may influence the effects of stretch. In the second study it was found that six 8-s maximal isometric contractions reduced Achilles tendon stiffness (10.9%; P<0.01) and passive joint moment (4.9%; P<0.01) and also significantly reduced concentric moment (11.5%; P<0.01), which was again correlated (r = 0.90; P<0.01) with a reduction in EMG amplitude (21.0%; P<0.01). Importantly, a subsequent bout of static stretch, which was identical to that used in study 1, did not result in a further change in any measure (P > 0.05). Whilst concentric moment and EMG recovered 30 min later, the decreases in Achilles tendon stiffness and passive moment remained. Thus, the normal stretch-induced reductions in force production were removed when isometric contractions were performed prior to stretch, but this was because concentric strength and neuromuscular activity were already affected; the reduction in concentric moment without a decrease in isometric moment indicates a contraction mode-specific response. The final study revealed that the use of concentric contractions (6×8-s) also resulted in similar reductions in Achilles tendon stiffness (11.7%; P<0.01) and concentric joint moment (6.6%; P<0.01) as the isometric contractions, and these were correlated (r = 0.94; P<0.01) with a reduction in EMG amplitude (10.2%; P<0.01). However, a further reduction in concentric moment was detected following an identical bout of static stretch (5.8%; P<0.01) with no further change in EMG. Importantly, EMG recovered 30 min later while concentric moment remained depressed (9.2%; P<0.01), indicating a musclebased mechanism for these force losses. No reduction in GM muscle operating length was found, removing this as a mechanism underpinning the losses in force. The findings from the present series of studies have important implications for research study design as the warm-up imposed on subjects prior to stretch seems to strongly influence the impact of stretch. Furthermore, the results also have important practical implications in the formulation of preperformance routines where maximal force production in the plantarflexors is an important goal.

The Hybrid Warfare phenomena, which is the subject of the current research, has been framed by the work of Professor Agostino Bruzzone (University of Genoa) and Professor Erdal Cayirci (University of Stavanger), that in June 2016 created in order to inquiry the subject a dedicated Exploratory Team, which was endorsed by NATO Modelling & Simulation Group (a panel of the NATO Science & Technology organization) and established with the participation as well of the author. The author brought his personal contribution within the ET43 by introducing meaningful insights coming from the lecture of “Fight by the minutes: Time and the Art of War (1994)”, written by Lieutenant Colonel US Army (Rtd.) Robert Leonhard; in such work, Leonhard extensively developed the concept that “Time”, rather than geometry of the battlefield and/or firepower, is the critical factor to tackle in military operations and by extension in Hybrid Warfare. The critical reflection about the time - both in its quantitative and qualitative dimension - in a hybrid confrontation it is addressed and studied inside SIMCJOH, a software built around challenges that imposes literally to “Fight by the minutes”, echoing the core concept expressed in the eponymous work. Hybrid Warfare – which, by definition and purpose, aims to keep the military commitment of both aggressor and defender at the lowest - can gain enormous profit by employing a wide variety of non-military tools, turning them into a weapon, as in the case of the phenomena of “weaponization of mass migrations”, as it is examined in the “Dies Irae” simulation architecture. Currently, since migration it is a very sensitive and divisive issue among the public opinions of many European countries, cynically leveraging on a humanitarian emergency caused by an exogenous, inducted migration, could result in a high level of political and social destabilization, which indeed favours the concurrent actions carried on by other hybrid tools. Other kind of disruption however, are already available in the arsenal of Hybrid Warfare, such cyber threats, information campaigns lead by troll factories for the diffusion of fake/altered news, etc. From this perspective the author examines how the TREX (Threat network simulation for REactive eXperience) simulator is able to offer insights about a hybrid scenario characterized by an intense level of social disruption, brought by cyber-attacks and systemic faking of news. Furthermore, the rising discipline of “Strategic Engineering”, as envisaged by Professor Agostino Bruzzone, when matched with the operational requirements to fulfil in order to counter Hybrid Threats, it brings another innovative, as much as powerful tool, into the professional luggage of the military and the civilian employed in Defence and Homeland security sectors. Hybrid is not the New War. What is new is brought by globalization paired with the transition to the information age and rising geopolitical tensions, which have put new emphasis on hybrid hostilities that manifest themselves in a contemporary way. Hybrid Warfare is a deliberate choice of an aggressor. While militarily weak nations can resort to it in order to re-balance the odds, instead military strong nations appreciate its inherent effectiveness coupled with the denial of direct responsibility, thus circumventing the rules of the International Community (IC). In order to be successful, Hybrid Warfare should consist of a highly coordinated, sapient mix of diverse and dynamic combination of regular forces, irregular forces (even criminal elements), cyber disruption etc. all in order to achieve effects across the entire DIMEFIL/PMESII_PT spectrum. However, the owner of the strategy, i.e. the aggressor, by keeping the threshold of impunity as high as possible and decreasing the willingness of the defender, can maintain his Hybrid Warfare at a diplomatically feasible level; so the model of the capacity, willingness and threshold, as proposed by Cayirci, Bruzzone and Gunneriusson (2016), remains critical to comprehend Hybrid Warfare. Its dynamicity is able to capture the evanescent, blurring line between Hybrid Warfare and Conventional Warfare. In such contest time is the critical factor: this because it is hard to foreseen for the aggressor how long he can keep up with such strategy without risking either the retaliation from the International Community or the depletion of resources across its own DIMEFIL/PMESII_PT spectrum. Similar discourse affects the defender: if he isn’t able to cope with Hybrid Threats (i.e. taking no action), time works against him; if he is, he can start to develop counter narrative and address physical countermeasures. However, this can lead, in the medium long period, to an unforeseen (both for the attacker and the defender) escalation into a large, conventional, armed conflict. The performance of operations that required more than kinetic effects drove the development of DIMEFIL/PMESII_PT models and in turn this drive the development of Human Social Culture Behavior Modelling (HCSB), which should stand at the core of the Hybrid Warfare modelling and simulation efforts. Multi Layers models are fundamental to evaluate Strategies and Support Decisions: currently there are favourable conditions to implement models of Hybrid Warfare, such as Dies Irae, SIMCJOH and TREX, in order to further develop tools and war-games for studying new tactics, execute collective training and to support decisions making and analysis planning. The proposed approach is based on the idea to create a mosaic made by HLA interoperable simulators able to be combined as tiles to cover an extensive part of the Hybrid Warfare, giving the users an interactive and intuitive environment based on the “Modelling interoperable Simulation and Serious Game” (MS2G) approach. From this point of view, the impressive capabilities achieved by IA-CGF in human behavior modeling to support population simulation as well as their native HLA structure, suggests to adopt them as core engine in this application field. However, it necessary to highlight that, when modelling DIMEFIL/PMESII_PT domains, the researcher has to be aware of the bias introduced by the fact that especially Political and Social “science” are accompanied and built around value judgement. From this perspective, the models proposed by Cayirci, Bruzzone, Guinnarson (2016) and by Balaban & Mileniczek (2018) are indeed a courageous tentative to import, into the domain of particularly poorly understood phenomena (social, politics, and to a lesser degree economics - Hartley, 2016), the mathematical and statistical instruments and the methodologies employed by the pure, hard sciences. Nevertheless, just using the instruments and the methodology of the hard sciences it is not enough to obtain the objectivity, and is such aspect the representations of Hybrid Warfare mechanics could meet their limit: this is posed by the fact that they use, as input for the equations that represents Hybrid Warfare, not physical data observed during a scientific experiment, but rather observation of the reality that assumes implicitly and explicitly a value judgment, which could lead to a biased output. Such value judgement it is subjective, and not objective like the mathematical and physical sciences; when this is not well understood and managed by the academic and the researcher, it can introduce distortions - which are unacceptable for the purpose of the Science - which could be used as well to enforce a narrative mainstream that contains a so called “truth”, which lies inside the boundary of politics rather than Science. Those observations around subjectivity of social sciences vs objectivity of pure sciences, being nothing new, suggest however the need to examine the problem under a new perspective, less philosophical and more leaned toward the practical application. The suggestion that the author want make here is that the Verification and Validation process, in particular the methodology used by Professor Bruzzone in doing V&V for SIMCJOH (2016) and the one described in the Modelling & Simulation User Risk Methodology (MURM) developed by Pandolfini, Youngblood et all (2018), could be applied to evaluate if there is a bias and the extent of the it, or at least making clear the value judgment adopted in developing the DIMEFIL/PMESII_PT models. Such V&V research is however outside the scope of the present work, even though it is an offspring of it, and for such reason the author would like to make further inquiries on this particular subject in the future. Then, the theoretical discourse around Hybrid Warfare has been completed addressing the need to establish a new discipline, Strategic Engineering, very much necessary because of the current a political and economic environment which allocates diminishing resources to Defense and Homeland Security (at least in Europe). However, Strategic Engineering can successfully address its challenges when coupled with the understanding and the management of the fourth dimension of military and hybrid operations, Time. For the reasons above, and as elaborated by Leonhard and extensively discussed in the present work, addressing the concern posed by Time dimension is necessary for the success of any military or Hybrid confrontation. The SIMCJOH project, examined under the above perspective, proved that the simulator has the ability to address the fourth dimension of military and non-military confrontation. In operations, Time is the most critical factor during execution, and this was successfully transferred inside the simulator; as such, SIMCJOH can be viewed as a training tool and as well a dynamic generator of events for the MEL/MIL execution during any exercise. In conclusion, SIMCJOH Project successfully faces new challenging aspects, allowed to study and develop new simulation models in order to support decision makers, Commanders and their Staff. Finally, the question posed by Leonhard in terms of recognition of the importance of time management of military operations - nowadays Hybrid Conflict - has not been answered yet; however, the author believes that Modelling and Simulation tools and techniques can represent the safe “tank” where innovative and advanced scientific solutions can be tested, exploiting the advantage of doing it in a synthetic environment.

Les modèles humains numériques sont devenus des outils indispensables à l’étude de la posture est du mouvement dans de nombreux domaines de la biomécanique visant des applications en ergonomie ou pour la clinique. Ces modèles intègrent une représentation géométrique de la surface du corps et un squelette filaire interne composé de segments rigides et d’articulations assurant leur mise en mouvement. La personnalisation des mannequins s'effectue d’abord sur les dimensions anthropométriques externes, servant ensuite de données d’entrée à l’ajustement des longueurs des segments du squelette en interne. Si les données externes sont de plus en plus facilement mesurables à l’aide des outils de scanning 3D actuels, l’enjeu scientifique est de pouvoir prédire des points caractéristiques du squelette en interne à partir de données uniquement externes. L’Institut de Biomécanique Humaine Georges Charpak (Arts et Métiers ParisTech) a développé des méthodes de reconstruction des os et de l’enveloppe externe à partir de radiographies biplanes obtenues avec le système basse dose EOS. En s’appuyant sur cette technologie, ces travaux ont permis de proposer de nouvelles relations statistiques externes-internes pour prédire des points du squelette longitudinal, en particulier l’ensemble des centres articulaires du rachis, à partir d’une base de données de 80 sujets. L'application de ce travail pourrait permettre d’améliorer le réalisme des modèles numériques actuels en vue de mener des analyses biomécaniques, principalement en ergonomie, nécessitant des informations dépendant de la position des articulations comme les mesures d’amplitude de mouvement et de charges articulaires
Digital human models have become instrumental tools in the analysis of posture and motion in many areas of biomechanics, including ergonomics and clinical settings. These models include a geometric representation of the body surface and an internal linkage composed of rigid segments and joints allowing simulation of human movement. The customization of human models first starts with the adjustment of external anthropometric dimensions, which are then used as input data to the adjustment of internal skeletal segments lengths. While the external data points are more readily measurable using current 3D scanning tools, the scientific challenge is to predict the characteristic points of the internal skeleton from external data only. The Institut de Biomécanique Humaine Georges Charpak (Arts et Métiers ParisTech) has developed 3D reconstruction methods of bone and external envelope from biplanar radiographs obtained from the EOS system (EOS Imaging, Paris), a low radiation dose technology. Using this technology, this work allowed proposing new external-internal statistical relationships to predict points of the longitudinal skeleton, particularly the complete set of spine joint centers, from a database of 80 subjects. The implementation of this work could improve the realism of current digital human models used for biomechanical analysis requiring information of joint center location, such as the estimation of range of motion and joint loading

Als Werkzeuge der virtuellen Ergonomie dienen arbeitswissenschaftliche digitale Menschmodelle zur ergonomischen Gestaltung von Produkten und Arbeitsplätzen. Hohen Weiterentwicklungsbedarf bestimmen ihre Anwender vor allem für die integrierten Kraftanalysen. Eine Möglichkeit zur gelenkwinkel- und kraftrichtungsabhängigen Berechnung statischer Aktionskräfte ohne komplexe Muskelmodellierung basiert auf Muskelmomenten, welche in Maximalmomentkörpern modelliert werden. Die Arbeit schildert und diskutiert detailliert die Berechnung solcher Maximalmomentkörper am rechten Oberarm. Zwei separate Studien ermöglichen die Erstellung und Evaluierung. Im Rahmen der ersten Studie werden maximale Muskelmomente der Hauptbewegungen von Ellenbogen und Schulter in Abhängigkeit der Gelenkwinkelstellungen erfasst und in Polynomen interpoliert. Durch diese gelenkwinkelabhängigen Momente können die Maximalmomentkörper modelliert werden. Im Rahmen der zweiten Studie werden wirkenden Muskelmomente mit den prognostizierten verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Maximalmomentkörper die wirkenden Muskelmomente bei maximalen Kraftaufbringungen im Mittel auf etwa 2 % genau vorhersagen, wobei einen Streubereich von etwa 50 % zu beachten ist. Der Streubereich ist dabei durch eine kritische Diskussion erklärbar und unter anderem den psychophysischen Verfahren einer Maximalkraftmessung zurechenbar.
Digital human models as tools of virtual ergonomics serve for the design of products and workplaces. High demands for further development determine their users, for the integrated force analyzes. One way to calculate joint-angle- and force-direction-dependent static forces without complex muscle modeling is based on muscle torques, which are modeled in maximum torque bodies known as “M-Potatos”. This work describes and discusses the calculation of such maximum torque bodies for the right upper arm. Two separate studies allow the preparation and evaluation. The first study explore the maximum muscle torques within the main movement directions of the elbow and shoulder and interpolate them as polynomials of the joint angle position. With these polynomials, the maximum torque bodies can be modeled. The second study compared effective muscle torques with those predicted. The results show that the maximum torque bodies predict the effective muscle moments at maximum isometric force application on average at about 2%, with a range of about 50% to be considered. The range can be explained by a critical discussion and, among other things, attributable to the psychophysical method of a maximum force measurement.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
This thesis is a study of quantifiable variation in the geometric shape of the superior articular surface of the talus of higher primates, with special reference to fossil tali of Plio- Pleistocene hominids. (Abbreviation abstract )
AC2017

Dissertação de Mestrado em Engenharia Informática apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
Com o crescimento em tamanho, complexidade e funcionalidade, os sistemas informáticos estão cada vez mais inteligentes e interconectados. Em linha com essa tendência, a Internet das Coisas é usada de forma mais eficiente para oferecer suporte a novos tipos de sistemas. O desenvolvimento de sistemas "Humanos em Ciclo" (tradução livre para "Human-in-the-Loop") em ambientes de Internet das Coisas ainda é relativamente recente e, como tal são poucos os trabalhos e teses realizados sobre o tema. Por meio de investigação de ponta e uma visão geral detalhada de modelos “Humanos em Ciclo” em ambientes de Internet das Coisas, esta tese é um esforço para estender o conhecimento do campo com a implementação de dois sistemas "Humanos em Ciclo" em ambientes IoT aplicados à área médica. O primeiro projeto (Vitoria) foi concebido para coletar métricas e criar técnicas de previsão para os padrões de comportamento das pessoas durante e após uma pandemia. O segundo projeto (POC) teve como objetivo permitir a investigação da correlação, sobreposição e distinção entre o transtorno do espectro do autismo e o transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo, por meio de recolha passiva e ativa de dados. Ambos os projetos seguem um processo de desenvolvimento característico de projetos informáticos que é detalhadamente especificado nesta tese, e ambos passam pelo desenvolvimento de sistemas para plataformas moveis, embora por processos de desenvolvimento diferentes. O sistema do primeiro projeto é baseado na plataforma Android e o sistema do segundo projeto é baseado na plataforma Xamarin. Esta tese também inclui uma biblioteca de software com o objetivo de permitir a qualquer programador implementar as principais funcionalidades de um sistema Humanos em Ciclo em qualquer aplicação de software baseada na plataforma Xamarin.
Along with the growth in size, complexity and functionality, informatic systems are becoming increasingly more intelligent and interconnected. In line with this trend, the Internet of Things is being used more efficiently to support new types of systems. The development of "Human-in-the-Loop" systems in Internet of Things environments is still relatively recent and, as such, there are few works, and theses carried out on the subject. Through state-of-the-art research and detailed overview of Human-in-the-Loop models in Internet of Things Environments, this thesis is an effort to extend the field’s knowledge with the implementation of two Human-in-the-Loop systems in IoT environments applied to medical situations. The first project (Vitoria) was meant to collect metrics and predictive techniques for people’s behaviour patterns during and after a pandemic. The second project (POC) had the objective to allow the investigation of the correlation, overlapping, and distinction between autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsion disorder, through passive and active data collection. Both projects follow a development process characteristic of Informatic projects that is specified in detail in this thesis, and both go through the development of systems for mobile platforms, although through different development processes. The system of the first project is based on Android platform and the system of second project is based on Xamarin platform. This thesis also includes a software library with the objective to allow any developer to implement the main features of a Human-in-the-Loop application in any software application based on Xamarin platform.
Outro - The research presented in this thesis was supported by the EEA Grants Portugal 2014- 2021 - Bilateral Initiative number 63 "PrivacyCoLab" and by the Project - "iFriend – Supervisión inteligente del estado de salud en personas mayores con insuficiencia renal mediante dispositivos inalámbricos" of Fundación CSIC, Interreg Portugal-Espanha.