Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking
Nowadays, lower-limb prostheses are reaching real-world usability especially on ground-level walking. However, some key tasks such as stair walking are still quite demanding. Providing haptic feedback about the foot placement on the steps might reduce the cognitive load of the task, compensating for...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Electronics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/9/10/1676 |
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| author | Ilaria Cesini Giacomo Spigler Sahana Prasanna Jessica D’Abbraccio Daniela De Luca Filippo Dell’Agnello Simona Crea Nicola Vitiello Alberto Mazzoni Calogero Maria Oddo |
| author_facet | Ilaria Cesini Giacomo Spigler Sahana Prasanna Jessica D’Abbraccio Daniela De Luca Filippo Dell’Agnello Simona Crea Nicola Vitiello Alberto Mazzoni Calogero Maria Oddo |
| author_sort | Ilaria Cesini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nowadays, lower-limb prostheses are reaching real-world usability especially on ground-level walking. However, some key tasks such as stair walking are still quite demanding. Providing haptic feedback about the foot placement on the steps might reduce the cognitive load of the task, compensating for increased dependency on vision and lessen the risk of falling. Experiments on intact subjects can be useful to define the feedback strategies prior to clinical trials, but effective methods to assess the efficacy of the strategies are few and usually rely on the emulation of the disability condition. The present study reports on the design and testing of a wearable haptic feedback system in a protocol involving intact subjects to assess candidate strategies to be adopted in clinical trials. The system integrated a sensorized insole wirelessly connected to a textile waist belt equipped with three vibrating motors. Three stimulation strategies for mapping the insole pressure data to vibrotactile feedback were implemented and compared in terms of intuitiveness and comfort perceived during level and stair walking. The strategies were ranked using a relative rating approach, which highlighted the differences between them and suggested guidelines for their improvement. The feedback evaluation procedure proposed could facilitate the selection and improvement of haptic feedback strategies prior to clinical testing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:39:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ec66ee647ef8417493eeaeec32aad78c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:39:00Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electronics |
| spelling | doaj.art-ec66ee647ef8417493eeaeec32aad78c2023-11-20T16:59:50ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922020-10-01910167610.3390/electronics9101676Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair WalkingIlaria Cesini0Giacomo Spigler1Sahana Prasanna2Jessica D’Abbraccio3Daniela De Luca4Filippo Dell’Agnello5Simona Crea6Nicola Vitiello7Alberto Mazzoni8Calogero Maria Oddo9The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyDepartment of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB Tilburg, The NetherlandsThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyThe BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, ItalyNowadays, lower-limb prostheses are reaching real-world usability especially on ground-level walking. However, some key tasks such as stair walking are still quite demanding. Providing haptic feedback about the foot placement on the steps might reduce the cognitive load of the task, compensating for increased dependency on vision and lessen the risk of falling. Experiments on intact subjects can be useful to define the feedback strategies prior to clinical trials, but effective methods to assess the efficacy of the strategies are few and usually rely on the emulation of the disability condition. The present study reports on the design and testing of a wearable haptic feedback system in a protocol involving intact subjects to assess candidate strategies to be adopted in clinical trials. The system integrated a sensorized insole wirelessly connected to a textile waist belt equipped with three vibrating motors. Three stimulation strategies for mapping the insole pressure data to vibrotactile feedback were implemented and compared in terms of intuitiveness and comfort perceived during level and stair walking. The strategies were ranked using a relative rating approach, which highlighted the differences between them and suggested guidelines for their improvement. The feedback evaluation procedure proposed could facilitate the selection and improvement of haptic feedback strategies prior to clinical testing.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/9/10/1676lower-limb amputeesvibrotactile beltstimulation strategiesElo ratingwearable roboticsassistive technologies |
| spellingShingle | Ilaria Cesini Giacomo Spigler Sahana Prasanna Jessica D’Abbraccio Daniela De Luca Filippo Dell’Agnello Simona Crea Nicola Vitiello Alberto Mazzoni Calogero Maria Oddo Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking Electronics lower-limb amputees vibrotactile belt stimulation strategies Elo rating wearable robotics assistive technologies |
| title | Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking |
| title_full | Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking |
| title_short | Assessment of Intuitiveness and Comfort of Wearable Haptic Feedback Strategies for Assisting Level and Stair Walking |
| title_sort | assessment of intuitiveness and comfort of wearable haptic feedback strategies for assisting level and stair walking |
| topic | lower-limb amputees vibrotactile belt stimulation strategies Elo rating wearable robotics assistive technologies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/9/10/1676 |
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