Measurement of Energy Expenditure on the Uniport Mobility Platform

The objective of this study was to measure energy expenditure on the Uniport mobility platform, a virtual reality device for dismounted infantry soldiers. Eight subjects performed at five grades (-5.0 deg, -2.5 deg, 0 deg, 2.5 deg, and 5.0 deg) at four speeds (2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 mph). An Oxylog device was used to measure oxygen uptake (VO2). An empirical equation derived by Pandolf et al. (1977) was also used to estimate VO2 for comparison purposes. Analysis of variance indicated that the actual VO2 values recorded by the Oxylog were lower than the estimated VO2 values from the Pandolf equation at 2.5 and 5.0 deg grades. This illustrates that the Uniport does not provide a sufficient amount of energy extraction as the grade increases and suggests that error increases as the grade increases. There were no differences between speeds for the estimated and actual VO2, which indicates that the Uniport provides sufficient energy extraction at the speeds tested. Appropriate software or hardware adjustments must be developed on the Uniport device to increase energy output when subjects move uphill.