PMC

Designed commutator control system. a Schematic diagram of the system. Detailed design of LED surrounding reflectors are shown in inset. b Design of constructed motorized commutator. a: headstage, b: LEDs, c: tether, d: pulley, e: slip-ring, f: DC motor, g: motor control board, h: out-of-focused lens

The participants rode on a motorized treadmill (slope 0°) at a velocity of 1.94 m/s, while the oxygen consumption and heart rate were continuously measured. To impose extra resistance, a pulley system was attached to the back of the handcycle, to add 10 W and 20 W, respectively.

Evolution of the experimental setup for LPFGs fabrication. (a) Setup by O. Okhotnikov comprising three independent blocks: the BICC fusion splicer, a motorized translation stage, and a pulley. Inset: v-grooves and electrodes of the fusion splicer; (b) Improvement of the alignment of the previous setup and computer-controlled arc discharge (the arc parameters had to be previously defined); (c) Setup by F. M. Araújo comprising the homemade high-voltage power supply (unstable), the electrodes support, and the fiber alignment block. Inset: The central block allowing for the positioning of the fiber in-between the electrodes (poor alignment confirmed by using the microscope); (d) New setup comprising another high-voltage power supply (unstable) and mechanical stability achieved by the use of three independent blocks: the motorized translational stage, the pulley and the central block with two independent v-grooves set, and the electrodes support. Adapted from [].

Schematic diagram of the motorized waist-pull perturbation system used to evoke protective stepping for balance recovery. The system combines a height adjustable pulley cable system mounted on vertical posts and a directional switching system that selectively perturbs balance in one of six possible directions via the pulling cables attached to the participant’s waist belt. Participants were perturbed in 12 directions, 6 sagittal and 6 frontal perturbations, presented in a counterbalanced order.