Modeling and simulation of power sharing and interaction between riders on a tandem bicycle

Recent studies along with applied experiments have proved the relationship between forced or active-assisted exercise (tandem cycling) and improvement in motor function of Parkinson´s decease (PD) patients. With the assistance of a trainer, patients pedaled at a rate 30% greater than their preferred voluntary rate. A good replacement for a trainer would be an automated smart bike that could assess patient conditions and dynamically change the exercise parameters to provide the best therapeutic experience to the PD patients. One important step in designing the optimize algorithms for smart bike is to study the interaction between the trainer and rider on the tandem bike, as well as the relationship between the load and the pedaling rate. In this paper, the relationship between the torque and cadence (RPM), as well as the interaction between riders on a stationary tandem bike have been studied. First, modeling and simulation of the power sharing and dynamical interaction on the tandem bike are discussed. Then, the model identification for the bike and power sharing between the riders based on the real data recorded from actual exercise sessions is presented.