Design of a Sensory Augmentation Walker with a Skin Stretch Feedback Handle

Abstract

Mobility aids such as canes, crutches, and walkers are widely used among the elderly and people with poor balance as a means for physical support to improve balance during walking. Advances in technology have led to the development of robotic walking aids which can provide active physical support and navigation by incorporating sensors and actuators in conventional walking aids. These devices have shown great potentials in enhancing mobility; however, few studies have employed the functionality to detect user's posture or have investigated the feedback approaches to augment this information. Thus, it is important for those with impaired balance not to just be passively supported by mobility aids but to also actively be engaged in correcting their posture. In this paper, we introduce the concept of a sensory augmentation walker that can provide real-time directional information via skin stretch feedback to the user. The design and the user study of perceiving directions on a novel skin stretch handle are presented. Results show that the directional cues rendered by skin stretch feedback can be accurately perceived by all healthy young subjects (n = 8) at their fingertips, while the palm is shown to be a less effective location for perceiving this kind of feedback. Positive feedback about the benefits in helping people with improper posture is also reported. Based on the results of this pilot study, a full system for improving balance performance in elderly or people with impaired balance will be undertaken. © 2018 IEE