Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of Pressure
With the help of wearable robotics, the lower limb exoskeleton becomes a promising solution for spinal cord injury (SCI) patients to recover lower body locomotion ability. However, fewer exoskeleton gait planning methods can meet the needs of patient in real time, e.g., stride length or step width,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/24/7216 |
| _version_ | 1797544498109087744 |
|---|---|
| author | Wei Yang Jiyu Zhang Sheng Zhang Canjun Yang |
| author_facet | Wei Yang Jiyu Zhang Sheng Zhang Canjun Yang |
| author_sort | Wei Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the help of wearable robotics, the lower limb exoskeleton becomes a promising solution for spinal cord injury (SCI) patients to recover lower body locomotion ability. However, fewer exoskeleton gait planning methods can meet the needs of patient in real time, e.g., stride length or step width, etc., which may lead to human-machine incoordination, limit comfort, and increase the risk of falling. This work presents a human-exoskeleton-crutch system with the center of pressure (CoP)-based gait planning method to enable the balance control during the exoskeleton-assisted walking with crutches. The CoP generated by crutches and human-machine feet makes it possible to obtain the overall stability conditions of the system in the process of exoskeleton-assisted quasi-static walking, and therefore, to determine the next stride length and ensure the balance of the next step. Thus, the exoskeleton gait is planned with the guidance of stride length. It is worth emphasizing that the nominal reference gait is adopted as a reference to ensure that the trajectory of the swing ankle mimics the reference one well. This gait planning method enables the patient to adaptively interact with the exoskeleton gait. The online gait planning walking tests with five healthy volunteers proved the method’s feasibility. Experimental results indicate that the algorithm can deal with the sensed signals and plan the landing point of the swing leg to ensure balanced and smooth walking. The results suggest that the method is an effective means to improve human–machine interaction. Additionally, it is meaningful for the further training of independent walking stability control in exoskeletons for SCI patients with less assistance of crutches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:01:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c6a7df918a5b4178a21f40564ff02da3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:01:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-c6a7df918a5b4178a21f40564ff02da32023-11-21T01:10:01ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202020-12-012024721610.3390/s20247216Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of PressureWei Yang0Jiyu Zhang1Sheng Zhang2Canjun Yang3Ningbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315100, ChinaSchool of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaNingbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315100, ChinaNingbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315100, ChinaWith the help of wearable robotics, the lower limb exoskeleton becomes a promising solution for spinal cord injury (SCI) patients to recover lower body locomotion ability. However, fewer exoskeleton gait planning methods can meet the needs of patient in real time, e.g., stride length or step width, etc., which may lead to human-machine incoordination, limit comfort, and increase the risk of falling. This work presents a human-exoskeleton-crutch system with the center of pressure (CoP)-based gait planning method to enable the balance control during the exoskeleton-assisted walking with crutches. The CoP generated by crutches and human-machine feet makes it possible to obtain the overall stability conditions of the system in the process of exoskeleton-assisted quasi-static walking, and therefore, to determine the next stride length and ensure the balance of the next step. Thus, the exoskeleton gait is planned with the guidance of stride length. It is worth emphasizing that the nominal reference gait is adopted as a reference to ensure that the trajectory of the swing ankle mimics the reference one well. This gait planning method enables the patient to adaptively interact with the exoskeleton gait. The online gait planning walking tests with five healthy volunteers proved the method’s feasibility. Experimental results indicate that the algorithm can deal with the sensed signals and plan the landing point of the swing leg to ensure balanced and smooth walking. The results suggest that the method is an effective means to improve human–machine interaction. Additionally, it is meaningful for the further training of independent walking stability control in exoskeletons for SCI patients with less assistance of crutches.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/24/7216gait planningstride lengthcenter of pressurehuman–machine interaction |
| spellingShingle | Wei Yang Jiyu Zhang Sheng Zhang Canjun Yang Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of Pressure Sensors gait planning stride length center of pressure human–machine interaction |
| title | Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of Pressure |
| title_full | Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of Pressure |
| title_fullStr | Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of Pressure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of Pressure |
| title_short | Lower Limb Exoskeleton Gait Planning Based on Crutch and Human-Machine Foot Combined Center of Pressure |
| title_sort | lower limb exoskeleton gait planning based on crutch and human machine foot combined center of pressure |
| topic | gait planning stride length center of pressure human–machine interaction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/24/7216 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weiyang lowerlimbexoskeletongaitplanningbasedoncrutchandhumanmachinefootcombinedcenterofpressure AT jiyuzhang lowerlimbexoskeletongaitplanningbasedoncrutchandhumanmachinefootcombinedcenterofpressure AT shengzhang lowerlimbexoskeletongaitplanningbasedoncrutchandhumanmachinefootcombinedcenterofpressure AT canjunyang lowerlimbexoskeletongaitplanningbasedoncrutchandhumanmachinefootcombinedcenterofpressure |