The phenomenon of non-linearity is the main problem of a DC motor and optimum performance cannot be obtained by the calculation of the controller’s parameters using conventional methods. However, a DC motor is considered an extremely common device by the low-cost and effective dynamic response in various applications. Thus, it has been a subject for research studies to take advantage of its maximum performance. This manuscript proposes an experimental methodology that consists of the following: The DC motor’s characterization method for finding the ideal frequency. The design of the Firmware-based Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) generating module and the P, PD, PID controller’s implementation in an own FPGA-based programmable microprocessor to obtain almost the same performance as a servo-amplifier commercial of direct-drive. The PWM is a technique widely used to regulate the speed of rotation of a DC motor, in this case, the duty cycle of the PWM is used to provide the torque necessary to the mechanics of the system in order to look for a linear relationship but using the right frequency of the characterized DC motor. Finally, based on a built prototype of a micro-positioning system using the characterized motors, and the mathematical model, in both cases the three controllers were applied in order to establish the comparison between the responses, seeking to observe if the experimental results show a great difference with respect to the simulation results. The main aim of this study is to show that the proposed methodology works. However, since there was no significant difference in both results, motors used in the closed-loop control present approximately the same linear response as that of the motor model used in the simulation.

Gait analysis and research have been developed to obtain characteristics of movement patterns of people while walking. However, traditional measuring systems present different drawbacks that reduce their use and application. Among those drawbacks one can find: high price, low sampling frequency and limiting number of steps to be analyzed. Traditional measuring gait systems carry out their measurement at frequencies oscillating between 60 to 100 Hz. It can be argued about the need of higher sampling rates for gait measurements. However small displacements of the knee or hip for example, cannot be seen with low frequencies required a more detailed sampling and higher frequency sampling. Bearing this in mind, in this paper is presented a 250 Hz system based on accelerometers for gait measurement, and the particularities of knee and hip angles during gait are highlighted. The system was designed with a PCI data acquisition card instrumented with an FPGA to achieve a rate sample of 250 Hz. The accelerometers were placed in thighs and legs to calculate the joint angles of hip and knee in the sagittal plane. The angles were estimated using the acceleration polygon method without integrating the acceleration and without filters. The gait of thirty healthy people of Mexican phenotype was analyzed over a flat floor free of obstacles. The results showed the gait phases and particularities associated with the walking style and people's laterality; the movement patterns were similar in the thirty persons. Based on the results, the particularities as the maximum amplitude in the angles and the shape in the movement patterns were related to the anthropometry and people phenotype. The sampling frequency was essential to record 340 samples in single gait cycle and so registering the gait cycle with its particularities. In this work were recorded an average of 8 to 10 gait cycles, and the results showed variation regarding works carried out in biomechanics laboratories; this variation was related to the method and reference frame used to obtain the joint angles and the accuracy of measurement system.

In this article, we present a system to measure current in the range of 0 to 10 $\mathsf{\mu }$A with high-voltage isolation up to 5 kV. This current monitor consists of three ammeters connected in series, to improve the resolution in the measurement. The design features several innovative elements such as using low voltage to provide power to the devices to measure the current and digitize it with a sampling frequency of 1 KHz, it is generated based on a DC-DC converter that produces three voltages, +12 V, −12 V, and 5 V, from a conventional 10 V source. The three voltages are referenced to the same floating ground. The DC-DC converter has a high voltage insulation up to 5 kV and four optocouplers with an insulation up to 20 kV are used to read the digitized data. The introduction of a DC-DC converter contributed to reduce the noise level in the analog part of the circuit which has been resolved implementing shields inside the board. In particle physics, several systems are used to detect particles in high-energy physics experiments such as Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM), micromegas, etc. GEMs suffer small deteriorations due to discharges in constant operation and require monitoring the current consumption at high frequency (1 kHz). In this work, we present the design and operation of a 0 to 10 $\mathsf{\mu }$A auto scale ammeter. The results obtained by monitoring the current in a 10 × 10 cm${}^2$ GEM are shown.

Las redes neuronales artificiales son útiles para procesar datos con información incompleta para obtener una salida deseada. En los sistemas de medición de robots manipuladores, solo se toman muestras cuantificadas de la posición y, por lo tanto, no se puede ejecutar en un tiempo razonable algoritmos deterministas para extraer los parámetros del robot. En el estado del arte, se abordan algoritmos de extracción de parámetros basados en la suposición de que no existe la cuantificación de las señales del movimiento del robot y que la primera y segunda derivada de la posición son muestreadas y no estimadas. En este trabajo, se propone un algoritmo basado en una red neuronal entrenada para extraer los parámetros de un determinado robot para reducir el tiempo de caracterización del robot, además, con la metodología propuesta se pueden extraer parámetros dinámicos del mismo tipo de robot con el que se ha entrenado la red neuronal.

Current research reports on the development of a portable electronic system to assess the kinematics of the lower limb joints at the sagittal plane. The electronic device characteristics and the different communication protocols to transfer data are also reported. Research obtained the hip and knee angles to analyze the lower limb kinematics during multiple gait cycles. Results showed that the movement patterns, found in the analysis made on people from central Mexico, were cyclical and alternating. The knee described a one third curve in flexion-extension movements just before the start of the flexion-extension curve in the swing phase. Moreover data obtained showed a correlation of movement between hip and knee during walking.