Estimation of Reaction Time During Human Balancing on Rolling Balance Board Based on Mechanical Models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csenge Andrea Molnar ◽  
Tamas Insperger
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Human Balancing ◽  
Mechanical Models ◽  
Balance Board

Estimation of Reaction Time During Human Balancing on Rolling Balance Board Based on Mechanical Models

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csenge A. Molnar ◽  
Tamas Insperger
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Time Delay ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Mechanical Model ◽  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Human Balancing ◽  
Wheel Radius ◽  
Balance Board

Abstract Human balancing on rolling balance board in the sagittal plane is analyzed such that the geometry of the balance board can be adjusted: the radius R of the wheels and the elevation h between the top of the wheels and the board can be changed. These two parameters have a significant influence on the stability of standing on the board as shown by preliminary experiments. The human body was modeled by a single inverted pendulum, while the balance board was considered by the geometry of the mechanical model. Based on literature, it was assumed that the central nervous system (CNS) controls by signals proportional to the angle and angular velocity of the human body and the balance board and is able to tune the feedback gains with 40% accuracy during the balancing process. To take the reaction time into consideration, operation of the CNS was modeled as a delayed proportional-derivative feedback. The critical time delay for the stabilization process is defined such that if the delay is larger than the critical one then no control gains could stabilize the system. Four balance board configurations were chosen with different wheel radius and the corresponding critical time delays were computed based on the mechanical model. Eight young healthy individuals participated in the experiments. Their task was to perform 60 s long balancing trials on each balance board. The reaction time of the participants was estimated by comparing the numerical results obtained for the critical time delay and their successful and unsuccessful balancing trials. The reaction times were found to be in the range of 0.10–0.15 s which are in good agreement with the literature.

Rolling balance board of adjustable geometry as a tool to assess balancing skill and to estimate reaction time delay

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (176) ◽  
Author(s):  
Csenge A. Molnar ◽  
Ambrus Zelei ◽  
Tamas Insperger
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Time Delay ◽  
Feedback Control ◽  
Mechanical Model ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Stabilizing Feedback Control ◽  
Model Subject ◽  
Balance Board

The relation between balancing performance and reaction time is investigated for human subjects balancing on rolling balance board of adjustable physical parameters: adjustable rolling radius R and adjustable board elevation h . A well-defined measure of balancing performance is whether a subject can or cannot balance on balance board with a given geometry ( R , h ). The balancing ability is linked to the stabilizability of the underlying two-degree-of-freedom mechanical model subject to a delayed proportional–derivative feedback control. Although different sensory perceptions involve different reaction times at different hierarchical feedback loops, their effect is modelled as a single lumped reaction time delay. Stabilizability is investigated in terms of the time delay in the mechanical model: if the delay is larger than a critical value (critical delay), then no stabilizing feedback control exists. Series of balancing trials by 15 human subjects show that it is more difficult to balance on balance board configuration associated with smaller critical delay, than on balance boards associated with larger critical delay. Experiments verify the feature of the mechanical model that a change in the rolling radius R results in larger change in the difficulty of the task than the same change in the board elevation h does. The rolling balance board characterized by the two well-defined parameters R and h can therefore be a useful device to assess human balancing skill and to estimate the corresponding lumped reaction time delay.

scholarly journals Reference data on reaction time and aging using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board: A cross-sectional study of 354 subjects from 20 to 99 years of age

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. e0189598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas W. Blomkvist ◽  
Fredrik Eika ◽  
Martin T. Rahbek ◽  
Karin D. Eikhof ◽  
Mette D. Hansen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Reference Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Nintendo Wii ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Wii Balance Board ◽  
Balance Board

scholarly journals MECHANICAL MODEL FOR HUMAN BALANCING ON ROLLING BALANCE BOARD

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csenge A. Molnar ◽  
Ambrus Zelei ◽  
Tamas Insperger
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Model ◽  
Frontal Plane ◽  
Degree Of Freedom ◽  
Upper Body ◽  
Feedback Delay ◽  
Human Balancing ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Two Degree Of Freedom ◽  
Balance Board ◽  
Human Nervous System

A two-degree-of-freedom mechanical model was developed to analyze human balancing on rolling balance board in the frontal plane. The human nervous system is modeled as a proportionalderivative controller with constant feedback delay. The radius R of the wheels and the board distance h measured from the center of the wheel are adjustable parameters. Simulation results using the mechanical model were compared with real balancing trials recorded by an OptiTrack motion capture system. The goal of the paper is to investigate whether the two-degree-of-freedom model is accurate enough to model the balancing task and to introduce a stabilometry parameter in order to characterize balancing skill in case of different set of R and h. The conclusion is that the angle of the upper body and the angle of the head also play an important role in the balancing process therefore a three- or four-degree-of-freedom model is more appropriate.

scholarly journals Human balancing on rolling balance board in the frontal plane

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (14) ◽  
pp. 300-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csenge A. Molnar ◽  
Ambrus Zelei ◽  
Tamas Insperger
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Plane ◽  
Human Balancing ◽  
Balance Board

scholarly journals Introduction of a Complex Reaction Time Tester Instrument

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Reginald Zana ◽  
Ambrus Zelei
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Time Delay ◽  
Time Instant ◽  
Initial Time ◽  
Complex Reaction ◽  
Sensory Organs ◽  
Time Duration ◽  
Simple Reaction ◽  
Human Balancing ◽  
The Individual

The reaction time, which is also referred as reflex delay in the literature, is an important factor in human balancing, since reaction time highly affects the ability of self stabilization. Increased reaction time delay may cause dangerous fall-over accidents related to elderly people. Reaction time depends on age, health, everyday activities, the general and actual physical and mental state of the individual and the environmental conditions.The reaction time is considered as a parameter in many of the mathematical models of the neural processes in human balancing. It is beneficial in many cases to estimate the reaction time based on experimental data.The present paper introduces the prototype of a complex reaction time tester instrument. The novelty of the instrument is that the reaction time can be measured in various combinations of sensory organs and reaction movements. The reaction time is defined as the time duration in between the initial time instant of the stimulus of the sensory organs (input signal) and the onset of the response that is typically indicated by a button or a pedal. Another novelty is that the instrument is free of any uncertain time delay, which is not the case for several instruments available.Usually, human simple reaction time is considered to be roughly about 200 ms. The shortest (aural) reaction time for skilled athletes is 85ms. In our measurements the shortest reaction time was 97 ms, and the mean about 190 ms in simple reaction cases. So our collected experimental data are in agreement with the literature.

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