Analysis and control of rhönrad mechanism with human body model (experiments with standalone rhönrad robot)

Abstract

Rhönrad is a gymnastic equipment that is interesting in terms of dynamics and control. We presented an analytical model and governing basic equations of the Rhönrad mechanism with a human body model. Then, a control method named as Synchronous control was proposed. In this control method, the human body moves synchronously with the rotation angle of the Rhönrad. The motion caused by Synchronous control was numerically analyzed. After that, a standalone miniature Rhönrad robot that consisted of three gyro sensors, an actuator, a micro-computer and batteries was manufactured. The validities of the Synchronous control were shown by experiments with the robot.