Tripping Avoidance Lower Extremity Exoskeleton Based on Virtual Potential Field for Elderly People

Abstract

Tripping is a common problem that everyone faces when walking. This paper mainly focuses on a lower limb exoskeleton that can help those weak in joints to avoid tripping when negotiating stairs or stepping over obstacles. This method does not need a camera or map reconstruction to recognize the obstacles and plan paths. The exoskeleton applies an impedance controller to follow and control the pilot’s movements. A virtual potential field is proposed to help the robot regulate the pilot’s motion and avoid kicking the obstacles appearing in front of the pilot’s foot during walking. Simulation and experiments show that this method works effectively and could help the elderly and those affected by joint weakness avoid tripping when walking.

Overground Walking with a Passive Hip Exoskeleton during Obstacle Avoidance in Young Able-Bodied Adults

“…Likewise, we found no significant differences between walking with and without the exoskeleton for cadence, step length, and double stance time. This can mostly be explained by the fact that a low walking speed (< 5 km/h) does not influence the postural stability as the participants have more time to adjust to surface changes in the environment 10 . Huijben et al 6 and Feodoroff and Blumer 11 have both reported an increase in gait velocity during treadmill walking underlining improvements in gait quality, especially among elderly adults.…”

“…Changes in the spatiotemporal gait parameters like increasing walking cadence or velocity have been shown to improve walking capabilities and reduce the risk of falling 6 . Another way to improve gait is through the use of exoskeletons, which have been proven to reduce metabolic cost 7 , increase gait velocity 8,9 , and aid during obstacles avoidance 10 . Additionally, hip exoskeletons have been shown to cause kinematic adaptations often seen by increasing hip flexion 11 .…”

“…Zhang et al 10 proposed that future research should focus on navigating complex terrains with uneven walking surfaces. This suggestion is further reinforced by Park et al 12 , which stated that future research should focus on obstacle crossing and navigating uneven terrain, in more ecological conditions.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge outdoor obstacle avoidance using passive exoskeletons is a mostly unexplored topic 10 . Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate spatiotemporal and hip kinematic parameters during commonly encountered walking situations while wearing a passive-assistive hip exoskeleton (aLQ).…”

Stroke Rehabilitation for Falls and Risk of Falls in Southeast Asia: A Scoping Review With Stakeholders' Consultation

“…articles were included in the final analysis. Reasons for the exclusion of articles during the full-text screening were provided inFigure 1(14,(82)(83)(84)(85)(86)(87)(88)(89)(90)(91)(92).…”