Browsing by Author "Roseiro, Luis"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Development of a Dynamic Hands-Free Door Opener to Prevent COVID-19 Pandemic SpreadingPublication . Maranha, Vítor; Maia, Pedro; Margalho, Luís; Lourenço, Nicolle; Oliveira, Diogo; Maurício, Diogo; Caseiro, João F.; Roseiro, LuisThe situation caused by COVID-19 has shown several vulnerabilities in the attitudes and habits of modern society, inducing the need to adopt new behaviors that will directly impact daily activities. The quickly spreading virus contaminates the surfaces of handles and objects, and subsequent contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth is one of the main contagion factors. There is an urgent need to rethink how we interact with the most-touched surfaces, such as door handles in public places with a high flux of people. A revision was performed of the most-used door handles to develop a proposal that could be applied to already existing models, thus avoiding the need for their total replacement. Through interaction between engineering, design, and ergonomics, an auxiliary hands-free door opener device was developed, following iteration improvement from an initial static geometry and culminating in a dynamic system aiming to provide greater ergonomic comfort in its use. The development followed a methodology using 3D modelling supported by 3D printing of the various components to accurately understand their functioning. In addition, the finite element method supported the prediction of the structural behavior of the developed systems. The final models were produced through CNC machining and submitted to functional validation tests with volunteers. The developed HFDO demonstrated relevant differentiation from the existing models on the market: for its geometry and material, but mainly for its strong emphasis on the interaction between the object and the user, resulting from the dynamic component in its use/manipulation.
- Gastrocnemius activation throughout the competitive season in athletes of different experience levelsPublication . Amaro, C.M.; Castro, Maria António; Roseiro, Luis; Mendes, Rui; M. Amaro, A.Basketball is a team sport in which the players undergo rapid reactions, and running efforts are usually carried out in all directions. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the muscle activity response in different basketball movements, considering two types of athletes with different levels of experience. Using a group of nine volunteers, female athletes from a senior basketball team, a data acquisition protocol was defined to identify the changes that occurred throughout the sports season. In this study, to assess the gastrocnemius muscle activity, intensity peak (%MC) and time to peak (TP) were evaluated for five typical basketball skills and movements involving running and jumping with and without the ball. Seven repetitions were executed for each movement, performed at two different time-points of the sports season: at the beginning of the teams’ competition, in November (T1), and at the season peak, in March (T2). TP presents greater values for T2 of the season when compared with T1. The results show that the level of experience of the athletes has a significant effect on the results of TP and %MC, particularly when comparing the two seasons.