Directional Change through Gait Simulator Control Using Prediction of Gait Mode Transition

SHIOZAWA Naruhiro, ARIMA Shuichi, MAKIKAWA Masaaki

doi:10.11239/jsmbe.43.124

We have been developing a gait simulator that enables a wide range of walking actions. In addition to walking in a straight line, this gait simulator is capable of several kinds of walking performance including going up and down stairs, and changing directions. The gait simulator consists of two footplates that follow the foot during the swing phase and pull it back during the stance phase when the user is walking straight. This gait simulator, however, was unable to perform gait mode transitions when the user changed walking direction. We made efforts to measure the angle of the turn in the foot and to differentiate the change in direction based on that angle, but a turn in the foot did not necessarily indicate a change in direction, so the result was an action that went against the user's intent, creating a feeling of discomfort for the user. In this paper, we first obtained kinematical data in changing direction of walking and examined the characteristics of these actions. Five healthy males between 22 and 28 years of age joined the experiment. Results revealed that the subjects changed their waist angle before the foot angle when changing the direction of walking. The angle of direction of bending the upper trunk could derive the prediction of the starting point and ending point of the directional change. Based on the results, we conducted verification tests of the concerned parameters while controlling the gait simulator. The gait simulator was able to correctly predict the user's directional change action and achieve appropriate directional change.

Directional Change through Gait Simulator Control Using Prediction of Gait Mode Transition

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