Kazuo Kiguchi¹, Takuto Fujita¹, Sho Yabunaka², Yusaku Takeda² and Toshihiro Hara², ¹Kyushu University, Japan and ²Mazda Motor Corporation, Japan

A study on muscle synergy of ankle joint motion is important since the acceleration operation results in automobile acceleration. It is necessary to understanding the characteristics of ankle muscle synergies to define the appropriate specification of pedals, especially for the accelerator pedal. Although the biarticular muscle (i.e., gastrocnemius) plays an important role for the ankle joint motion, it is not well understood yet. In this paper, the effect of knee joint angle and the role of biarticular muscle for pedal operation are investigated. Experiments of the pedal operation were performed to evaluate the muscle synergies for the ankle plantar flexion motion (i.e., the pedal operation motion) in the driving position. The experimental results suggest that the muscle activity level of gastrocnemius varies with respect the knee joint angle, and smooth pedal operation is realized by the appropriate muscle synergies.

Ankle Joint, Pedal Operation, EMG, BiArticular Muscle, Muscle Synergy