Effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching task

A person capable of using more than one of four limbs simultaneously for manipulation can also be expected to be capable of performing concurrent and complex tasks and improving work efficiency. However, to our knowledge, no studies have investigated simultaneous tasks that require multi-degree-of-f...

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Main Authors: Masaharu KOMORI, Yukihiko MAMIYA, Yuki WATABE, Tatsuro TERAKAWA, Michio NOMURA
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers 2025-04-01
Series:Mechanical Engineering Journal
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Online Access:https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mej/12/3/12_24-00218/_pdf/-char/en
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author Masaharu KOMORI
Yukihiko MAMIYA
Yuki WATABE
Tatsuro TERAKAWA
Michio NOMURA
author_facet Masaharu KOMORI
Yukihiko MAMIYA
Yuki WATABE
Tatsuro TERAKAWA
Michio NOMURA
author_sort Masaharu KOMORI
collection DOAJ
description A person capable of using more than one of four limbs simultaneously for manipulation can also be expected to be capable of performing concurrent and complex tasks and improving work efficiency. However, to our knowledge, no studies have investigated simultaneous tasks that require multi-degree-of-freedom manipulation, particularly those in which the lower limb engages in the same task as the upper limb. In this study, we developed a system to evaluate work performance and subjective mental workload using reaching movements with multiple limbs. To foster comparisons among various manipulations, experiments were conducted with single manipulation by a hand or a foot, simultaneous manipulation by the homologous limbs (left-hand_right-hand, left-foot_right-foot), simultaneous manipulation by the ipsilateral heterologous limbs (left-hand_left-foot, right-hand_right-foot), and simultaneous manipulation by the contralateral heterologous limbs (left-hand_right-foot, right-hand_left-foot). The processing time and accuracy of each limb were lower during two-than one-limb manipulation. In other words, a bilateral deficit tended to be seen. When manipulating with two limbs, manipulation with the homologous limbs was significantly superior to that with the heterologous limbs in terms of processing time, accuracy, and mental workload. Because the work performance of a foot tended to be worse than that of a hand in the one-limb manipulation, the work performance of the two-limb manipulation using both feet was expected to be the worst in the two-limb manipulations. However, the experimental results showed that the work performance of the heterologous limbs was worse than that of both feet. Manipulation with the contralateral heterologous limbs tended to be superior to that with the ipsilateral heterologous limbs in terms of processing time, accuracy, and mental workload. Regarding two-limb manipulation, the homologous limbs tended to perform best, followed by the contralateral and ipsilateral heterologous limbs.
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spelling doaj-art-b3c2799c01c24802a9cd0b7f06f94f6f2025-08-20T03:29:31ZengThe Japan Society of Mechanical EngineersMechanical Engineering Journal2187-97452025-04-0112324-0021824-0021810.1299/mej.24-00218mejEffectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching taskMasaharu KOMORI0Yukihiko MAMIYA1Yuki WATABE2Tatsuro TERAKAWA3Michio NOMURA4Department of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto UniversityCognitive Psychology in Education Course, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto UniversityA person capable of using more than one of four limbs simultaneously for manipulation can also be expected to be capable of performing concurrent and complex tasks and improving work efficiency. However, to our knowledge, no studies have investigated simultaneous tasks that require multi-degree-of-freedom manipulation, particularly those in which the lower limb engages in the same task as the upper limb. In this study, we developed a system to evaluate work performance and subjective mental workload using reaching movements with multiple limbs. To foster comparisons among various manipulations, experiments were conducted with single manipulation by a hand or a foot, simultaneous manipulation by the homologous limbs (left-hand_right-hand, left-foot_right-foot), simultaneous manipulation by the ipsilateral heterologous limbs (left-hand_left-foot, right-hand_right-foot), and simultaneous manipulation by the contralateral heterologous limbs (left-hand_right-foot, right-hand_left-foot). The processing time and accuracy of each limb were lower during two-than one-limb manipulation. In other words, a bilateral deficit tended to be seen. When manipulating with two limbs, manipulation with the homologous limbs was significantly superior to that with the heterologous limbs in terms of processing time, accuracy, and mental workload. Because the work performance of a foot tended to be worse than that of a hand in the one-limb manipulation, the work performance of the two-limb manipulation using both feet was expected to be the worst in the two-limb manipulations. However, the experimental results showed that the work performance of the heterologous limbs was worse than that of both feet. Manipulation with the contralateral heterologous limbs tended to be superior to that with the ipsilateral heterologous limbs in terms of processing time, accuracy, and mental workload. Regarding two-limb manipulation, the homologous limbs tended to perform best, followed by the contralateral and ipsilateral heterologous limbs.https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mej/12/3/12_24-00218/_pdf/-char/ensimultaneous manipulationupper limblower limbmultiple limbsreaching task
spellingShingle Masaharu KOMORI
Yukihiko MAMIYA
Yuki WATABE
Tatsuro TERAKAWA
Michio NOMURA
Effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching task
Mechanical Engineering Journal
simultaneous manipulation
upper limb
lower limb
multiple limbs
reaching task
title Effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching task
title_full Effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching task
title_fullStr Effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching task
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching task
title_short Effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2-DOF reaching task
title_sort effectiveness of simultaneous manipulation by the upper and lower limbs in a planar 2 dof reaching task
topic simultaneous manipulation
upper limb
lower limb
multiple limbs
reaching task
url https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mej/12/3/12_24-00218/_pdf/-char/en
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AT yukihikomamiya effectivenessofsimultaneousmanipulationbytheupperandlowerlimbsinaplanar2dofreachingtask
AT yukiwatabe effectivenessofsimultaneousmanipulationbytheupperandlowerlimbsinaplanar2dofreachingtask
AT tatsuroterakawa effectivenessofsimultaneousmanipulationbytheupperandlowerlimbsinaplanar2dofreachingtask
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