| Summary: | Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 === The increasingly sedentary lifestyle of the past 30 years has contributed to declining
health. Consequently, exercise is vital for good health maintenance. The global Health
and Fitness Industry repeatedly indicates the need for optimally managed exercise
with accurate information feedback. Compared to other industries, the fitness industry
is lagging behind in incorporating Information Technology into its operations. On the
other hand, the most current exercise equipment impose fixed-trajectory exercise on
users with the dominance of static equipment designs. These exercise equipment are
normally deadweight-based equipment. In deadweight-based exercise equipment, the
weights generally can be changed only when the equipment is inactive. Therefore, a
more novel exercise environment is required for current exercisers in the fitness
industry.
This thesis explores to develop a computer-controlled pneumatic dynamic resistance
exercise equipment with onboard data management. This new technology optimises
exercise effectiveness for users. Exercisers will have advanced diagnostic capacity,
and will capture user data which can be manipulated into meaningful information for
use by Health and Fitness Industry stakeholders.
This thesis will explore all the key concepts about computer-controlled equipment.
The key concepts to be investigated will include FX (force-displacement) control
technology, pneumatic system control, fail-safe mechanics, and Graphical User
Interface design. The primary aim of the project is to replicate and enhance the
functionality, performance, and sensation of deadweight-based equipment. A further
aim of the project is to investigate the feasibility of designing a compact retrofit-able
pneumatic unit to replace the deadweights of existing standard exercise equipment.
The computer control will be implemented on a "National Instruments PXI" computer
featuring Data Acquisition and Control (DAQAC) capacity, and the software will be
implemented using "LabVIEW 7.0', which is a graphic object-oriented computer
language developed to facilitate hardware I software communications.
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