An Automatically Adjusting Exoskeleton that Adapts to Your Way of Walking

A new robotic, boot-like exoskeleton utilizes wearable sensors to adapt to each individual that wears it, marking a considerable progression for robotics. The device, explained in a study released yesterday, helps address one of the major obstacles in developing systems that aid people to walk: everyone walks differently.

“This exoskeleton personalizes assistance as people walk normally through the real world,” stated Steve Collins, associate professor of mechanical engineering and head of the Stanford Biomechatronics Laboratory.

The concept of exoskeletons isn’t new– scientists believe they can help individuals with mobility problems or take off some of the pressure from walking for individuals in jobs that involve consistent activity. However, thus far, devices that work in the lab haven’t translated as well to real-world environments. They’re frequently unwieldy and hard to use, and the process of customizing them for every new person is costly and complex.

The group at the Stanford Biomechatronics Laboratory attempted to address those issues. Initially, the device is self-contained. It straps to the user’s ankle and up the lower leg, controlled by a battery pack at the waist, allowing free movement outside and through everyday environments. At this moment, the prototype is a tangle of wires that connects to a shoe and below the knee. The device pushes the calf muscle at each step, applying pressure that provides the individual a boost.

Optimizing Humans with new technology

The team additionally created a new technique to facilitate the process of adjusting the exoskeleton to every individual. Exoskeletons are typically fitted by having people walk on a treadmill in a laboratory, while factors like oxygen consumption and energy expenditures are carefully tracked. This way, the device can be modified up until it’s firing at the ideal moment, helping to minimize the amount of energy consumed by an individual.

The new method, released Wednesday in the journal Nature, leaned on data collected in a previous experiment that tracked individuals walking with an exoskeleton in the laboratory under numerous conditions. The data was used to develop a model that could determine the energy individuals used to walk based on data from low-cost sensors installed in the exoskeleton.

That model enables the exoskeleton to learn in real-time and in real-world situations how best to assist someone walk. The study tested the system on ten individuals and discovered that it could enhance movements in approximately an hour. Throughout that process, they walked outdoors while listening to different prompts– like “walk as if you were walking to catch a bus”— to ensure the device could adapt to everyday walking speeds and situations.

After its optimization, the exoskeleton allowed the participants to move faster while using less energy than they might have wearing typical shoes. The study discovered that real-world tests where individuals walked outside were identical to removing a 20-pound backpack.

Overcoming mobility challenges

This study just evaluated the exoskeleton of healthy adults in their mid-20s. There’s still a lot of work to do to verify if it can assist individuals who require additional support, like older adults that walk slowly or individuals that work in physically requiring jobs like warehouse workers. The device is a prototype– there’s still a long way to go before it becomes available. The exoskeleton’s price is yet unclear. Still, displaying that an exoskeleton can enhance movement in a real-world setting is a first for robotics.

“I believe that over the next decade, we’ll see these ideas of personalizing assistance and effective portable exoskeletons help many people overcome mobility challenges or maintain their ability to live active, independent, and meaningful lives,” study author and bio-engineering researcher Patrick Slade stated in a statement.

Originally published by: The Verge