• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.496-504
• /
• 2023

This paper recognizes the motion intention of the wearer using a muscle stiffness sensor and proposes a control system for a wearable robot based on this. The proposed system recognizes the onset time of the motion using sensor data, determines the assistance mode, and provides assistive torque to the hip flexion/extension motion of the wearer through the generated reference trajectory according to the determined mode. The onset time of motion was detected using the CUSUM algorithm from the muscle stiffness sensor, and by comparing the detection results of the onset time with the EMG sensor and IMU, it verified its applicability as an input device for recognizing the intention of the wearer before motion. In addition, the stability of the proposed method was confirmed by comparing the results detected according to the walking speed of two subjects (1 male and 1 female). Based on these results, the assistance mode (gait assistance mode and muscle strengthening mode) was determined based on the detection results of onset time, and a reference trajectory was generated through cubic spline interpolation according to the determined assistance mode. And, the practicality of the proposed system was also confirmed by applying it to an actual wearable robot.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.39-51
• /
• 2016

In accordance to rapid aging of population, the accidents of elderly pedestrian and pedestrian safety are becoming very important issues. In terms of smartphone technologies, older people are increasingly looking for useful and friendly ICT services that which can add a value on their silver life. This paper introduced a new IT-based service for elderly walking assist using a smart-phone accompanied by a wearable watch. We describe the functional requirements and a systems architecture model with an interface between a smart-phone and wearable watch. Moreover, this study attempted to verify what services are needed and to estimate elderly pedestrians' WTP (willingness to pay) for IT-based walking assistance device. A total of 189 elderly pedestrians were randomly surveyed through face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire consisted of 3 categories: (1) questions pertaining to socio-economic status, (2) 12 questions regarding walking attitudes, and (3) a question to measure WTP. With this gathered data, factor analysis and path model estimating were conducted. The results identified the elderly user requirements and the use-value of new innovative products for IT-based walking assistance services by two groups(latent elderly and elderly). The modeling result shows that elderly's service preference would increase the possibilities for the commercialization of IT-based walking device with improving their walking safety.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2020

PURPOSE: Many patients with stroke have difficulties in walking with foot-drop. Various types of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) have been developed, but their weight needs to be reduced with the assistance of the ankle dorsiflexor. Therefore, an elastic AFO (E-AFO) was devised that not only improves the stability and flexibility of the ankle but also assists with ankle dorsiflexion while walking. This study examined the effects of an E-AFO, on the walking patterns of foot-drop patients with stroke. METHODS: Fourteen patients walked with and without an E-AFO, and the gait parameters were assessed using the GAITRite system. The spatiotemporal data on the gait patterns of stroke patients with foot-drop were compared using paired t-tests; the level of statistical significance was set to α<.05. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in the velocity (p=.066) and affecte+d step length (p=.980), but the affected and less-affected stance (p=.022, p=.002) and swing time (p=.012, p=.005) were significantly different. The E-AFO produced a significant difference in the less-affected step length (p=.032). CONCLUSION: The E-AFO has a significant effect on the walking patterns of individuals with foot-drop and stroke. The E-AFO could be a useful assistive device for gait training in stroke patients.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.16 no.10
• /
• pp.933-938
• /
• 2010

In this paper, we propose the organization of a sensor system and user's intent detection algorithm for walking assist rehabilitation robots. The main purpose of walking assist rehabilitation robots is assisting SCI patients to walk in normal environment. To use walking assist rehabilitation robot in normal environment, it is needed to consider various factors about user's safety and detection of user's intent and so on. For these purposes, we have analyzed the use case of rehabilitation robots and organized the system of sensors for walking assist rehabilitation robots and finally, we have developed the algorithm which is used to detect user's intent for those. We applied our proposal method in the rehabilitation robot, ROBIN, and verified their effectiveness by normal, not patient.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.157-164
• /
• 2015

In this paper we propose a walking aid system for blind people by exploiting a haptic feedback equipment. The proposed system is a form of haptic feedback cane which is composed of MCU, communication module, sensing module and actuator. The proposed system recognizes obstacles around the blind by using ultrasonic sensors in the sensing module. Moreover, the system generates feedback information about the detected obstacle and then notifies the information to the blind through the actuator. The blind can notice the direction of the detected obstacle with the haptic feedback equipment and vibration motor. Futhermore, the proposed system controls a nearby IoT(Internet of Things) system by utilizing push buttons through the ZigBee communication. Finally, the blind can easily decide the direction of the obstacle without interference of terrain feature by using the proposed system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.89-99
• /
• 2017

This paper describes the development of a thigh wearable robot for power assistance during stair climbing. In the wearable robot developed in this study, high-power BLDC motors and high-capacity harmonic reduction gears are used to effectively assist the thigh muscle during stair climbing. In particular, normal ground and stair are distinguished accurately by using wireless smart shoes, and the stair climbing assistance is performed by activating the actuators at an appropriate time. Impedance of the hip joint was effectively reduced by performing friction compensation of the gears, and a wearing adjustment mechanism was designed to fit the robot to the thigh by conveniently modifying the width and tilting angle of the robot using set collars. Consequently, the performance of the developed thigh wearable robot was verified through stair climbing experiments with EMG measurement.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.7-13
• /
• 2009

Recently, the interest on walking assistances in order to assist aged people has increased due to the increase of the aged. However, most walking aid systems have a weakness for a slope because they don't have power. So, they have a weak point which makes users difficult to move when they are weak in the legs. That is why the interest on walking assistances with power has increased. The use of the walking aid systems should be easy because most users are old people. Thus, we produce module to grasp walking intent of users by using various sensors such as potentiometer, FSR(Force Sensing Resistance) Sensor and Stretch Sensor and calculate the response time to the module. Firstly, the response time of handlebar which is a kind of potentiometer is 420ms and Resilience of it is 140ms. Secondly, the response time of handlebar which use FSR Sensor is 320ms and Resilience of it is 220ms. Finally, the response time of the Stretch Sensor is 160ms and Resilience of it is 140ms. The performance of Stretch Sensor is the best among the three kind of sensors.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.38 no.8
• /
• pp.837-848
• /
• 2014

This paper describes the development of a walking assistive robot for effective self-rehabilitation for elderly people facing an inconvenience in walking. The main features of the developed robot are enhanced safety and mobility using the baby walker and electric wheelchair mechanisms and an accurate walking tracking control algorithm using potentiometers and stereo cameras. Specifically, a pelvis supporter is designed to prevent the user from falling down and reduce the burden on their legs, and electric motors are used for easy locomotion with low effort. Next, the walking intention and direction of the user are automatically recognized by using potentiometers attached at the pelvis supporter so that the robot can track the user, and the rapidity and accuracy of the tracking were increased by applying a lower-body motion analysis algorithm with stereo cameras. Finally, the user-tracking performance of the developed robot was experimentally verified through stepwise walking assistance experiments.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.144-151
• /
• 2017

An important characteristic of people with partially impaired walking ability, such as incomplete paraplegics, is that they are able to generate voluntary motion of lower-limbs. Therefore, wearable robots for the incomplete paraplegic patients require a different assistance method compared to those of complete paraplegics. First, the wearable robot should be controlled to not resist wearer's motion. Second, it should be able to generate assistive torque accurately when needed. In this paper, a wearable robot, called EROWA, for the incomplete paraplegic patients is introduced. EROWA utilizes compact rotary series elastic actuators (cRSEAs) and a control method called the zero impedance control to reduce the mechanical resistance. An assistive torque trajectory is proposed to assist gait in this paper. The proposed method is verified by simulation and experimental studies.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.11 no.11
• /
• pp.936-942
• /
• 2005

Recently the exoskeletal power assistive equipment which is a kind of wearable robot has been widely developed to help the human body motion. For the elderly people and patients, however, some limits exist due to the weight and volume of the equipments. As a feasible solution, a tendon-driven exoskeletal power assistive device fur the lower body, and caster walker are proposed in this research. Since the caster walker carries the heavy items, the weight and volume of the wearable exoskeleton are minimized. The key control is used to generate the joint torque required to assist motions such as sitting, standing and walking. Experiments were performed for several motions and the EMG sensors were used to measure the magnitude of assistance. When the motion of sitting down and standing up was compared with and without wearing the proposed device, the $25\%$ assistance was acquired.