Assistance system for walking assistance, computer-implemented method for controlling assistance system, and corresponding non-transitory computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an assistance system configured to provide walking assistance to a user by assisting walking movement of at least one leg of the user, the assistance system comprising an actuation control unit. The actuation control unit includes a hip joint reference trajectory unit configured to receive hip angle state information of at least one hip of the at least one leg and to generate a hip joint reference trajectory # imgabs0 # based on the received hip angle state information using a gait phase estimation model. The actuation control unit further comprises an actuation feedback unit configured to receive a current actuator state of the actuator configured to assist the walking motion and to compare the current actuator state to a hip joint reference trajectory # imgabs1 # to generate an actuator control signal. The actuation control unit is configured to output the actuator control signal to control the actuator. Furthermore, a method for controlling an auxiliary system and a corresponding non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, may cause the computing system to perform the method are disclosed.

Description

[0001] describe

[0002] The present invention relates to an assist system configured to provide walking assistance to a user by assisting the walking motion of at least one leg of the user; a method for controlling an assist system configured to provide walking assistance to a user; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for executing the method.

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of assisted locomotion systems, and more particularly to the field of walking assistance systems configured to assist a user in walking motion. Specifically, some populations experience reduced walking dexterity and / or ability, such as the elderly, those with mild neurological conditions, and / or those undergoing physical therapy / rehabilitation following injury. While such populations may not have completely lost the ability to perform walking motions on their own, assistance during leg motion (e.g., during normal walking motions) may be necessary and / or desirable.

[0004] The inventors have recognized that, within the scope of the present invention, it is beneficial for users of such assisted movement systems to at least partially support the natural movement of the user's legs. In particular, the inventors have recognized that it is necessary to provide assistance accurately and in a timely manner to ensure that sufficient and / or effective support is provided.

[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an assistance system for movements of a user having improved simplicity, controllability and operating characteristics.

[0006] According to one aspect, an assist system is configured to provide walking assistance to a user by assisting a walking motion of at least one leg of the user. The assist system may be a wearable soft robotic suit configured to assist a lower limb joint of at least one leg during the walking motion.

[0007] The walking motion of at least one leg can be or can include the natural forward motion of the user using the at least one leg, and / or can be or can include the natural backward motion of the user using the at least one leg. The walking motion can be the natural (e.g., forward and / or backward) movement of the user. Furthermore, please note that the present disclosure is not limited to the forward and / or backward walking motion of the user. Rather, other types of motion can also be assisted. For example, the walking motion can be or can include the lateral motion of the user, including, for example, one or more lateral leg raising motions.

[0008] In particular, the walking motion may include at least one of hip flexion and hip extension of at least one leg of the user.

[0009] In particular, the user may be a human user, wherein the walking motion may be a human gait. However, the assistance system is not limited thereto, and other users having at least one leg, such as animals, for example bipeds, may also be considered.

[0010] Furthermore, within the scope of the present disclosure, walking assistance may be understood to involve providing physical and / or mechanical assistance to a user (e.g., by applying one or more forces) to facilitate walking motion. For example, the one or more forces may be applied to one or both legs of a user to assist with hip flexion, e.g., during a forward and / or backward walking motion of the user. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more forces may be applied to one or both legs of a user to assist with hip extension, e.g., during a forward and / or backward walking motion of the user. However, other types of leg motions may also be assisted, alternatively or additionally.

[0011] In addition, the term "walking motion" may include the user's walking motion at any natural speed. Thus, the term "walking motion" may be understood to, for example, also include slow walking (e.g., strolling) and / or fast walking (e.g., running and / or sprinting). In addition, the term "walking motion" may be understood to include other types of natural human motion, such as jumping and / or "bouncing" motion. Other examples of possible types of natural human motion may include sitting down (e.g., sitting down on a chair) or standing up (e.g., standing up from a sitting position). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the term "walking motion" may also include motions of the user that are based on or similar to the user's walking motion, such as riding a bicycle.

[0012] The auxiliary system includes an actuation control unit. The actuation control unit may be configured to at least generate an actuator control signal to control the actuator. The actuation control unit may be implemented on one or more printed circuit boards. For example, the actuation control unit may be implemented on an Arduino unit, such as an Arduino Mega 2560 and / or an ArduinoMRK Wi-Fi 1010. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and other embodiments of the actuation control unit may also be used. The actuation control unit may be configured to receive user data, such as hip angle status information of at least one hip of the user.

[0013] The actuation control unit includes a hip joint reference trajectory unit. The hip joint reference trajectory unit is configured to receive hip angle state information of at least one hip of at least one leg of a user. The hip joint reference trajectory unit can be configured to receive the hip angle state information as a digital and / or analog data signal. The hip angle state information can specifically describe at least one physical parameter and / or state of at least one hip of the user.

[0014] The hip joint reference trajectory unit is further configured to generate a hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information using a gait phase estimation model. . The gait phase estimation model may be configured to estimate the current and / or future physical state of at least one hip, preferably based on individual parameters of the user and / or generalized parameters of healthy users (e.g., based on demographic data of healthy users). The gait phase estimation model may be configured to estimate the gait phase of at least one hip. The gait phase may indicate a progression of at least one hip along a gait cycle of the user. The gait phase estimation model may be a parameterized gait phase estimation model, wherein the hip joint reference trajectory unit and / or the actuation control unit may be configured to determine one or more parameters of the parameterized gait phase estimation model to adapt the parameterized gait phase estimation model to the user. The one or more parameters may, for example, include one or more scalar parameters, one or more vector parameters, and / or one or more function parameters (e.g., 、 The hip joint reference trajectory unit can be configured to output the hip joint reference trajectory .

[0015] The actuation control unit may further include an actuation feedback unit. The actuation feedback unit may be configured to receive the hip joint reference trajectory from the hip joint reference trajectory unit. .

[0016] The actuation feedback unit is also configured to receive a current actuator state of an actuator configured to assist the user's walking motion. The current actuator state may include the current actuation state of the actuator. For example, for a rotary actuator having a rotatable drive shaft, the current actuation state may include the rotation state and / or rotation angle and / or angular rotation position of the rotatable drive shaft. For example, the rotary actuator may be configured to rotate the drive shaft around the drive shaft axis in one or two directions (e.g., clockwise and / or counterclockwise) according to the actuator control signal. For example, for a linear actuator having a linearly movable drive element, the current actuation state may include the current linear position of the linear movable drive element relative to the linear actuator. For example, the linear actuator may be configured to move the linear movable drive element according to the actuator control signal.

[0017] The actuation control unit and / or the actuation feedback unit may be connected to the actuator to receive the current actuator state and / or output actuator control signals. The actuation control unit and / or the actuation feedback unit may be connected to the actuator via any data transmission protocol (e.g., via a CAN bus protocol).

[0018] The actuator can be configured to directly or indirectly apply at least one force on at least one leg and / or at least one hip to assist walking motion based on the actuator control signal. However, applying at least one force can also include operating the actuator based on the actuator control signal to allow independent movement of the at least one leg. For example, for an actuator configured to apply a pulling force on at least one leg via at least one tendon, the actuator can also be operable to at least partially release the at least one tendon to provide slack in the at least one tendon to allow the corresponding at least one leg to move. In particular, the actuator can be configured to physically and / or mechanically assist walking motion.

[0019] The actuator feedback unit is further configured to compare the current actuator state with the hip joint reference trajectory. The comparison is performed to generate an actuator control signal. The comparison may include a reference trajectory based on the hip joint. Determine desired and / or required future actuator states. Optionally, the hip joint reference trajectory Desired and / or required future actuator states can be defined. In particular, the hip joint reference trajectory Thus, for example, a reference position trajectory for the actuator can be defined. The comparison can also include comparing the future actuator state with the current actuator state to generate the actuator control signal. Thus, the actuator feedback unit can be configured to perform closed-loop position feedback control by generating the actuator control signal.

[0020] For example, based on such closed-loop position feedback control, the walking assistance provided by the assistance system (e.g. via the assisting torque applied by the actuator) can be inherently scaled according to the weight of the user's leg. The actuator can attempt to reach a desired and / or required future actuator state, and this can result in more or less assisting torque being applied depending on the load attached to the actuator (which can correspond to the weight of the respective leg). Advantageously, no calibration is therefore required for this purpose, as the kinematic considerations are common to every healthy user, independent of their weight and height. This can therefore allow the position profile of the actuator to be set according to the desired range of motion of the hip joint and according to the progression of the leg along the gait cycle.

[0021] The actuation control unit is further configured to output an actuator control signal to control the actuator.The actuation control unit may in particular be configured to output the actuator control signal as a digital and / or analog signal.

[0022] By providing such an assistive system as disclosed herein, it becomes possible to effectively at least partially support the natural movement of the user's legs. In this context, at least partially supporting the natural movement of the user's legs can be understood as providing at least one force on the user's legs in addition to the force exerted on the user's legs by the user himself.

[0023] The assistance system and / or the actuation control unit may be configured to be wearable by a user. For example, the assistance system may further comprise a harness configured to be wearable by a user, wherein the components of the assistance system (e.g., the actuation control unit) may be configured to be mountable on the harness. The harness may comprise one or more mounting elements, wherein the one or more mounting elements may be mountable on the user and may be configured such that one or more components of the assistance system may be (preferably releasably) fixed to and / or fixed together with the one or more mounting elements. The one or more mounting elements may, for example, comprise at least one belt (e.g., a waist belt), and / or at least one article of clothing (e.g., trousers), and / or at least one brace (e.g., a knee brace).

[0024] The actuation control unit and / or the hip joint reference trajectory unit may be configured to receive hip angle status information via a wireless and / or wired connection, for example from a sensor or input device. For example, the actuation control unit and / or the hip joint reference trajectory unit may be configured to receive hip angle status information at least partially via a wireless connection (e.g. a Bluetooth low energy connection). In particular, the actuation control unit and / or the hip joint reference trajectory unit may therefore comprise a primary communication unit configured to receive hip angle status information, such as a Bluetooth communication unit. An example of a Bluetooth communication unit may be an Adafruit FeathernRF52 Bluefruit Bluetooth unit.

[0025] The hip joint reference trajectory unit and the actuation feedback unit can be implemented within a single microcontroller, or as separate units that can be connected to each other to share power and / or information signals. For example, the hip joint reference trajectory unit may include a data output unit, which is configured to output at least the hip joint reference trajectory. The actuation feedback unit may include a data input unit, which is configured to receive the hip joint reference trajectory from the hip joint reference trajectory unit. The data output unit and the data input unit can be configured to communicate via any known data protocol, for example via a wired connection (e.g., an I2C connection) and / or a wireless connection (e.g., a Bluetooth low energy connection).

[0026] The actuation control unit and / or the actuation feedback unit may include a control signal output unit configured to output an actuator control signal. In particular, the control signal output unit may be configured to output the actuator control signal via a wired connection and / or a wireless connection. For example, the actuation control unit and / or the actuation feedback unit may be configured to output the actuator control signal via a Bluetooth low energy connection. Optionally, the primary data communication unit may also be configured to output the actuator control signal.

[0027] Implementing such data transmission via a wireless connection can significantly simplify the assistance system. For example, hard-wired connections (e.g., between the actuation control unit and one or more sensors) can be avoided or reduced, resulting in a reduction in the weight and complexity of the assistance system, as well as an improvement in its usability. Furthermore, the reliability of the assistance system can be improved because there are no or fewer wired connections that could be exposed to the outside and potentially snag on external objects during use of the assistance system, potentially causing disruption to the walking motion or damage to the assistance system and / or corresponding wired connections.

[0028] The gait phase estimation model may be configured to determine a motion state and / or kinematic state of a hip, preferably a human hip, during at least a portion of a walking cycle of the leg, depending on at least one modeling parameter and / or hip angle state information. The motion state and / or kinematic state may be or may include a gait phase indicating a progression of at least one hip along a gait cycle of the user, wherein a gait phase with a value of 0-100% may be provided indicating a progression along the gait cycle. The at least one modeling parameter may be determined, for example, based on a personal parameter of the user and / or according to demographic data. Generating a hip joint reference trajectory This may include evaluating at least one modeling parameter to fit the gait phase estimation model to the user and / or to the received hip angle state information.

[0029] Hip angle state information can include the hip joint angular position of at least one hip and / or the hip angular velocity of at least one hip. Please note that the terms hip angular velocity (angular hip velocity) and hip angular velocity (hip angular velocity) are used interchangeably in this article. The hip joint angular position of hip can be or can include the hip flexion angle measured in, for example, the sagittal plane of the user or a plane parallel to the sagittal plane. Alternatively, the hip joint angular position can be or can include the inter-limb flexion angle, which is measured as the difference between the hip joint flexion angle of the user's left hip relative to the sagittal plane and the hip joint flexion angle of the user's right hip relative to the sagittal plane. In such a case, for example, a sensor (e.g., an IMU sensor) can be installed on the lateral side of the thigh of one leg or each leg of the user.

[0030] Please note that the use of the sagittal plane for measuring hip joint angular position information is merely exemplary and may be particularly helpful in providing walking assistance for a user's forward and / or backward walking. However, additionally or alternatively, hip joint angular position information may be determined in other planes of the user or in other planes parallel to the user. For example, the hip joint angular position of the hip may be or may include a lateral hip deflection angle measured in, for example, the user's coronal plane or in a plane parallel to the coronal plane. In such a case, for example, a sensor (e.g., an IMU sensor) may be mounted on the front or back side of the thigh of one or each leg of the user.

[0031] The hip angular velocity can be determined as a time derivative of the hip joint angular position. This can allow for a simplified setup and reduce the overall data transmission requirements within the assistance system. Furthermore, the hip angular velocity can be determined as a time derivative of the hip joint angular position by the actuation control unit and / or the hip joint reference trajectory unit. In particular, this can allow for a simplified assistance system, wherein the actuation control unit can be configured to generate and output actuator control signals based on only a single measured input parameter type per hip (i.e., the corresponding hip joint angular position).

[0032] Alternatively, the hip angular velocity can be a measured hip angular velocity, for example also measured in the user's sagittal plane or in a plane parallel to the sagittal plane. Preferably, the hip joint angular position and the hip angular velocity of the hip are measured in the same plane of the user (e.g., the user's sagittal plane or coronal plane). For example, one or more sensors (e.g., one or more IMU sensors discussed further below) can be used to measure the hip joint angular position and / or the hip angular velocity. Such an auxiliary system may be more robust because, for example, measurement errors in the hip joint angular position are not directly transferred to the hip angular velocity calculated based thereon.

[0033] The gait phase estimation model can be configured to receive hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity as input to generate a hip joint reference trajectory. .

[0034] In particular, by using the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity as inputs to the gait phase estimation model, a simple input method can be provided. Specifically, the hip joint angular position and / or hip angular velocity can be conveniently measured using existing effective sensors (e.g., by means of at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor). The at least one IMU sensor can, for example, be mounted on the leg corresponding to the hip, preferably on the thigh.

[0035] For example, one IMU sensor may be mounted on one or each thigh of the respective hip via the thigh strap of the harness. In particular, apart from, for example, at least one IMU sensor, no other types of sensors may be required, resulting in a significant reduction in the complexity of the assistance system.

[0036] In particular, a single sensor (e.g., a single IMU sensor) can be configured to measure the kinematics of the joint, such as hip angle state information. Thus, the hip joint reference trajectory for the actuator can be derived entirely from the user's motion without the need for anthropometric scaling. Thus, by driving the actuator based on the set position information, the assist torque applied to the user can be inherently scaled based on the weight of the leg to be lifted to achieve the desired position.

[0037] Each IMU sensor can be configured to perform 9-axis measurements of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer, wherein the measured data is merged with the nine degrees of freedom (DoF) fusion mode of the IMU sensor and extracted in the form of a quaternion to obtain the femoral inclination relative to the vertical axis. The vertical axis can be defined relative to an external coordinate system (e.g., a Cartesian coordinate system or a polar coordinate system) and can, for example, extend in the direction of gravity. Thus, a simple way to obtain the femoral inclination can be achieved, which is particularly suitable for assisting the user's upright walking motion.

[0038] Alternatively or additionally, an additional sensor unit (e.g., an additional IMU sensor) may be provided on the user's waist (e.g., on a waist belt of the harness). The additional sensor unit may be configured to obtain and / or measure spinal inclination, preferably to obtain and / or measure a spinal axis substantially extending along and / or parallel to the spine of the corresponding user relative to a vertical axis. Using at least one IMU sensor mounted on at least one leg (preferably at least one corresponding thigh) of the corresponding hip, and the additional sensor unit provided on the user's waist, a relative femoral inclination relative to the spinal axis may be obtained, the spinal axis substantially extending along and / or parallel to the spine of the corresponding user. Thus, specifically, the relative femoral inclination may be obtained even when the user is not performing an upright walking motion (e.g., during a crouching and / or leaning motion of the user). For an upright walking motion of the user, the relative femoral inclination may be substantially the same as the femoral inclination, as described above.

[0039] The femoral inclination thus obtained and / or the relative femoral inclination obtained can be a good and / or sufficient approximation of the hip joint angular position (e.g., hip flexion angle). In particular, the femoral inclination obtained and / or the relative femoral inclination obtained can be output to the actuation control unit and / or the hip joint reference trajectory unit by at least one IMU sensor as the hip joint angular position. An exemplary IMU sensor that can be used together with the present disclosure is the Bosch BNO055 sensor. However, the present disclosure is not limited to any specific IMU sensor. Data communication within a sensor (e.g., the first sensor unit as further described below) and / or within the actuation control unit can be carried out via multiple data transmission protocols (e.g., I2C and / or SPI).

[0040] The gait phase estimation model can also be configured to determine the polar angle between the hip joint angular position and the hip angular velocity in a hip phase diagram. The hip phase diagram can be understood as a graphical representation of the hip kinematics of at least one hip in a hip phase space. In particular, the hip phase space can be a mathematical space generated by a hip joint angular position abscissa axis (e.g., hip flexion angle abscissa axis) and a hip angular velocity ordinate axis. Based on the hip phase diagram at any point in time, the hip phase diagram can be understood as a graphical representation of the hip kinematics of at least one hip in a hip phase space. In particular, the hip phase space can be a mathematical space generated by a hip joint angular position abscissa axis (e.g., hip flexion angle abscissa axis) and a hip angular velocity ordinate axis. t The received hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity can be used to determine the corresponding polar angle in the hip phase space.

[0041] Furthermore, it is within the scope of the present invention to realize that the hip joint angular position during walking motion (e.g. during natural human locomotion) A periodic trajectory may be presented, which may be approximated to a sinusoidal waveform, for example, wherein the hip angular velocity It can also present a periodic trajectory. Hip angular velocity Can be relative to the hip joint angle position have offset. Therefore, the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity A circular orbit (eg, counterclockwise or clockwise) may be generated in the hip joint phase space.

[0042] The polar angle can be the hip joint angle position in the hip phase space and hip angular velocity The angle between the two and can indicate the progression of walking motion along the gait cycle.

[0043] The gait phase estimation model may also be configured to determine an estimated gait phase based on the polar angle , the estimated gait phase Indicates the progression of walking motion along the gait cycle. For example, the estimated gait phase Therefore, it can be used as the hip joint angle position and hip angular velocity function (i.e., as ) to obtain. In particular, the estimated gait phase Can be a monotonically increasing variable.

[0044] The gait phase estimation model can also be configured to estimate the hip joint angle position before determining the estimated gait phase. and hip angular velocity Furthermore, the polar angle can be determined between the centered and normalized hip joint angular position and the centered and normalized hip angular velocity.

[0045] In particular, by performing such centering and normalization, the linearity of the determined estimated gait phase can be improved for each stride. Furthermore, such centering and normalization can allow the hip joint angle position in the hip phase space to be and hip angular velocity A more circular orbit.

[0046] Centering and normalization can include moving the hip joint angle position around the origin of the hip phase space and / or hip phase diagram and hip angular velocity Centering and normalization can also include scaling the hip joint angle position. To match hip angular velocity Such an example of centering and normalization that can be used in the present disclosure is shown in David Quintero et al.: “Real-Time Continuous Gait Phase and Speed ​​Estimation from a SingleSensor”, in 2017 IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA), pp. 847-852, IEEE, 2017, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

[0047] The centered and normalized hip joint angle position can be obtained by :

[0048]

[0049] The centered and normalized hip angular velocity can be obtained by :

[0050]

[0051] In the above equation, the symbol " ” depends on the respective leg and / or hip being considered and may therefore be adjusted accordingly. Specifically, the sign may also determine the direction of rotation of the circular orbit in the hip phase space (clockwise or counterclockwise). For example, to consider the user's right leg, the equation may be changed using , and to take into account the user's left leg, the equation can be used , which respectively result in a counterclockwise circular orbit in the hip phase space.

[0052] Maximum and and the minimum value and Can be with strides and can be identified as corresponding signals and The time when the derivative of the signal crosses zero. In particular, the zero crossing of the derivative of the signal can correspond to a local extrema (i.e., a local maximum / minimum). In addition, the nature of the local extrema (i.e., whether the local extrema is a local maximum or minimum) can be determined based on the direction in which the corresponding derivative approaches zero (e.g., from a positive value to a negative value on the y-axis, or vice versa).

[0053] For example, the estimated gait phase It can be used as the centered and normalized hip joint angle position and the centered and normalized hip angular velocity function (i.e., as ) to obtain.

[0054] Estimated gait phase This can be obtained, for example, using the following formula, employing Iverson bracket notation:

[0055]

[0056] The term ω can be a correction factor to account for the hip joint angular position due to the anterior-posterior motion of the hip during walking motion. There are at least two solutions for each value of . Therefore, by calculating the centered and normalized hip angular velocity The estimated gait phase can be eliminated by summing the sign function of For example, the correction factor This can therefore be given by (again using Iverson bracket notation):

[0057]

[0058] The gait phase estimation model may also be configured to approximate the dynamic behavior of at least one hip based on the estimated gait phase (Also referred to as approximate dynamic behavior in this article ), which is based on the approximate dynamic behavior To generate the hip joint reference trajectory . Approximate dynamic behavior In particular, a sinusoidal behavior of at least one hip joint in the sagittal plane can be approximated.

[0059] For example, approximating dynamic behavior It can be obtained by:

[0060]

[0061] The gait phase estimation model can also be configured to generate a hip reference trajectory Previous approximation of the dynamic behavior of at least one hip Apply a Kalman filter.

[0062] In particular, it is recognized within the scope of the present invention that the generated hip joint reference trajectory The invention may be sensitive to noise captured during measurement and / or determination of the angular hip state information. Such noise may be caused, for example, during a heel strike at a sustained speed of the user and / or may be due to offset motion of an auxiliary system on the user (e.g., through offset motion of a harness mounted on the user). It will be appreciated, therefore, that any such noise may be conveyed to information and values ​​determined based on the hip angular state information, such as to the hip joint reference trajectory. .

[0063] However, by Approximate dynamic behavior of at least one hip By applying a Kalman filter, the transmission of such noise can be significantly reduced and / or avoided. Thus, it becomes possible to improve the robustness to noise and enhance the overall control characteristics of the assistance system.

[0064] For example, in contrast to conventional low-pass or high-pass filters that require identification of a specific cutoff frequency, the application of a Kalman filter allows for noise suppression based on signal-to-noise characteristics and modeling. However, the noise captured during measurement and / or determination of hip angle state information may not have a constant pattern, as it may originate, for example, from sensor movement of the assistive system's structure as the user moves. Under such conditions, while identification of a specific cutoff frequency and application of conventional low- / high-pass filters may not be possible, the application of the Kalman filter described herein can still significantly reduce and / or avoid the transfer of noise.

[0065] The Kalman filter can be applied as follows:

[0066]

[0067] The above equations can be used to calculate the approximate dynamic behavior at each iteration Measurement update of . Vector can be the current state estimate (e.g., trajectory and its derivatives), vector It may be considered until the time of The predicted state estimate from past measurements of Can be the current approximate dynamic behavior .

[0068] The term may be a system matrix and may be given, for example, by:

[0069]

[0070] In particular, can be the time interval of each update cycle of the actuation control unit. Therefore, the matrix The hardware considerations of the actuation control unit can be taken into account. The actuation control unit operates at update period intervals (e.g., at a frequency of 100 Hz), the matrix It can be given by:

[0071]

[0072] The term may be an output matrix and may be given, for example, by:

[0073]

[0074] The term may be a Kalman gain and may determine the noise characteristics, wherein the noise characteristics may be determined by the process noise covariance matrix and the measurement noise covariance matrix To set:

[0075]

[0076]

[0077] The term may be the state covariance matrix and may be chosen to minimize the error in the estimation. The process noise covariance matrix and the measurement noise covariance matrix It can be given, for example, by:

[0078]

[0079]

[0080] Process noise covariance matrix The dimensions can be the same as the system matrix The same dimensions and can therefore be, for example, 2x2. The measurement noise covariance matrix The dimension of may be the same as the measurement, and thus may be, for example, 1x1 (since the measurement may be scalar, e.g., measurement).

[0081] You can choose to follow the above matrix and The values ​​of the diagonal (eg, 0.02 and 0.75 in the above example) serve as weighting factors for the estimated noise or the measured noise, respectively.

[0082] System Matrix , output matrix , process noise covariance matrix and the measurement noise covariance matrix The above values ​​of are only exemplary. In particular, they can be determined experimentally based on the specific hardware implementation of the auxiliary system. and The value of .

[0083] The assistance system may be configured to perform a Kalman configuration process before starting to provide walking assistance during a walking motion. The assistance system may in particular be configured to determine during the Kalman configuration process 、 、 and / or Alternatively or additionally, during the Kalman configuration process, 、 、 and / or One or more values ​​of may be predetermined and provided to the assistance system.

[0084] The gait phase estimation model can also be configured to approximate the dynamic behavior of at least one hip Apply interpolation to produce the hip joint reference trajectory In particular, in approximating the dynamic behavior In the implementation scheme of applying Kalman filter, interpolation can be applied to the approximate dynamic behavior after Kalman filtering. In an embodiment where a Kalman filter is applied, the dynamic behavior of at least one hip can be approximated. Approximate dynamic behavior of at least one hip after applying the Kalman filter Interpolation is applied. The interpolation can in particular be a motion mapping method based on cubic spline interpolation. The interpolation can also take into account the specific hardware configuration of the actuator. For example, for an actuator configured to assist walking motion of only one leg (e.g., for a single-leg assistance system and / or a fully driven assistance system), the hip joint reference trajectory In other words, such an actuator may, for example, pull a tendon a first amount when the corresponding hip flexes and release the respective tendon (or, in other words, provide slack in the respective tendon) a second amount when the hip flexes, where the first amount is greater than the second amount.

[0085] The interpolation can be any type of interpolation, such as polynomial interpolation. Cubic spline interpolation can be a special form of polynomial interpolation, where the dynamic behavior is approximated. The intervals between the data points (e.g., with or without the Kalman filter applied) can be fitted with a cubic polynomial so that the hip joint reference trajectory The curvature of is adjusted as needed. Such a cubic polynomial can take the following form:

[0086]

[0087] The gait phase estimation model can be configured to approximate the dynamic behavior of at least one hip Before applying the interpolation, calibrate the interpolation. The calibration interpolation (e.g., cubic spline interpolation) can include calibrating the interpolation so that during hip flexion, the force generated by the actuator (e.g., the tension generated by the actuator on the tendon) based on the actuator control signal is amplified, while during hip extension, slack is provided by the actuator (e.g., slack provided by the actuator in the tendon) to cover approximately 10° to approximately 15° of extension without amplification. The calibration interpolation can also be adjusted experimentally to account for hardware considerations of the assist system. For example, the calibration interpolation can be adjusted experimentally to account for gait phase (e.g., as determined above), the amount of assistance desired (e.g., given as a value relative to the force applied by the user themselves), and / or the hardware of the actuator (e.g., the radius of the pulley that wraps around the tendon in a rotary actuator).

[0088] Hip joint reference trajectory may specifically correspond to desired and / or required future actuator states, such as desired and / or required future motor positions. Thus, the hip joint reference trajectory It may also be determined based on the user-applied hip range of motion and / or the actuator range of motion and / or the radius of, for example, the actuator's drive shaft and / or pulley.

[0089] The gait phase estimation model can also be configured to approximate the dynamic behavior of at least one hip After applying interpolation, add the velocity scale factor to the hip joint reference trajectory , where the speed scaling factor can be related to and / or based on the user's walking speed. For example, the speed scaling factor can be the gait speed , as discussed further below.

[0090] The actuator feedback unit can be a proportional-integral-differential (PID) controller or a PID-like controller. The current actuator state can be the motor position The actuation feedback unit may be configured to determine the position error , wherein the actuation unit can be configured to convert the position error into an actuator control signal, such as a motor angular velocity. For example, the actuation feedback unit (e.g., a PID or PID-like controller) can be configured to generate the actuator control signal based on the position error, wherein the PID controller can have the following transfer function:

[0091]

[0092] Gain 、 and can be predetermined (e.g. by using the Ziegler-Nichols heuristic method) to accurately follow the desired hip joint reference trajectory .

[0093] The actuation control unit may further be configured to determine whether the user has stopped walking, wherein determining whether the user has stopped walking may include evaluating whether a stop condition is satisfied. When the actuation control unit determines that the user has stopped walking (preferably as long as it is determined that the user has stopped walking), the actuation control unit may be configured to set the actuator control signal to 0. Preferably, the actuation control unit is configured to periodically, preferably continuously, evaluate whether the user has stopped walking and / or has stopped walking.

[0094] The actuation control unit may also be configured to determine the user's gait speed The gait speed can be determined based on the received hip angle state information, preferably based on at least the hip joint angle position and the hip angle velocity. For example, the gait speed It can be obtained by the following formula:

[0095]

[0096] In particular, by relying on the centered and normalized hip joint angle position and the centered and normalized hip angular velocity , which can achieve gait speed accurate and effective determination.

[0097] However, it is worth noting that gait speed It can also be based on the hip joint reference trajectory unit received and / or without the corresponding centered and normalized hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity To determine:

[0098]

[0099] Such an approach could allow for a more rapid determination of gait speed. , and thus may allow for a faster evaluation of whether the stopping condition is met.

[0100] Preferably, the actuation control unit may be configured to generate a hip joint reference trajectory. Beforehand, it is evaluated whether the stop condition is met. In particular, this can allow efficient operation of the assistance system.

[0101] In particular, evaluating whether a stopping condition is met may include converting the gait speed With stop threshold In particular, evaluating whether a stopping condition is met may include determining the gait speed Below the stop threshold . Preferably, the stopping threshold can be set at approximately .

[0102] However, the stopping threshold The stopping threshold is not limited to the above exemplary values. Instead, the stopping threshold can be determined individually for each user. , or the stopping threshold may be set to a standard value. The standard value may be based on demographic data, for example. The stopping threshold may be determined individually for each user. This may include determining a stopping threshold based on the individual range of motion of at least one leg of the user Furthermore, the stopping threshold can be determined individually for each leg of the user. , which can allow for separate evaluation of whether each leg individually satisfies the stopping condition.

[0103] In particular, the stopping threshold can be determined experimentally For example, the stopping threshold may be determined taking into account hardware considerations of the assistance system, noise introduced by the measurement (e.g., hip angle state information), whether any data processing is performed on the hip angle state information (e.g., by centering and normalizing and / or by applying a Kalman filter, as described above), If the hip angle state information is filtered (eg, as described above), the stopping threshold may take into account any cutoff frequency of the corresponding filter.

[0104] For example, the stopping threshold can be determined based on demographic data For example, the assistance system according to the present disclosure can be installed in a group of N subjects who are at rest and standing quietly, where the gait speed can be recorded. The corresponding determined value of can be based on the gait speed as an average value The respectively determined values ​​are used to estimate the stopping threshold However, although this may be sufficient to determine the stopping threshold However, it is worth noting that these gait speeds are determined separately. The value of may also inherently contain noise from the corresponding sensor. Therefore, the stop threshold after movement can also be measured by asking N subjects to walk and suddenly stop The required value of and considers more variations in the corresponding stopping threshold dataset before finding the mean to improve robustness.

[0105] Furthermore, the actuation control unit may be configured to evaluate whether a stop condition is met before applying the Kalman filter and interpolation, as described above. In particular, this may allow the actuator control signal to approach zero smoothly and thus avoid abrupt changes and / or discontinuities in the actuator control signal.

[0106] When the actuation control unit has determined that the user has stopped walking, setting the actuator control signal to 0 may include setting the approximate dynamic behavior to is zero (which in turn may result in the actuator control signal being set to zero).

[0107] In addition, the dynamic behavior will be approximated Setting to zero may include approximating the dynamic behavior before applying the Kalman filter and / or interpolation is set to zero as described above. In particular, in approximating the dynamic behavior After being set to zero, the approximate dynamic behavior Applying a Kalman filter and / or interpolation can allow the actuator control signal to smoothly approach zero. This can, for example, reduce stress on both the assistance system and the user during use of the assistance system. Furthermore, this can provide a more natural walking assistance when the user has stopped walking.

[0108] By implementing such a stop state, the actuation control unit can avoid and / or reduce interference and / or noise in the hip angle state information when the user stops walking, so as to avoid the interference and / or noise being converted into undesirable actuator control signals.

[0109] The assistance system may in particular be configured to provide walking assistance to the user by assisting a walking movement of a first leg of the user.

[0110] The assistance system may include a first sensor unit that is communicatively connected to the actuation control unit and configured to determine a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of a first hip of a first leg of a user. The first hip of the first leg of the user may in particular be a hip that is directly connected to the first leg. The first sensor unit may be mountable on the first leg of the user, for example on a harness that is at least partially worn by the user on the first leg. For example, the harness may include a first leg strap (e.g., a first thigh strap) that is configured to be worn by the user on the first leg, wherein the first sensor unit is mountable on the first leg strap.

[0111] The first sensor unit can be configured to provide the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the first hip as hip angular state information to the hip joint reference trajectory unit, preferably via a wireless (e.g., Bluetooth low energy) connection. The actuation control unit can be specifically configured to generate an actuator control signal based on the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the first hip. The first sensor unit can include an IMU sensor (e.g., a Bosch BNO055 sensor) and a data communication unit (e.g., a Feather nRF52 unit).

[0112] The assist system may further comprise an actuator, wherein the actuator is configured to exert at least one force, preferably a pulling force, on the first leg of the user based on an actuator control signal. The actuator may be mountable on the user, for example on a harness worn by the user. For example, the harness may comprise a waist belt configured to be worn by the user, wherein the actuator is mountable on the waist belt. The actuator may be configured as a rotary actuator having a rotatable drive shaft. The actuator may further comprise at least one tendon at least partially wound around the rotatable drive shaft. The tendon may also be fixedly connected to the first leg strap. Thus, the actuator may be configured to rotate (in particular based on the actuator control signal) the drive shaft to tense the at least one tendon to exert at least one force on the first leg.

[0113] Furthermore, the actuation control unit can be configured to determine and / or calculate the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the user's second hip based on the received hip joint angular position and the received hip angular velocity of the first hip. Specifically, within the scope of the present invention, it is achieved that, for example, during a continuous walking movement, the hip angular state information of the user's first hip is correlated with the hip angular state information of the user's second hip, for example via a phase offset. In particular, in such an assistance system, the provision and / or number of further sensor units (e.g., second sensor units) mounted on the user's other leg can be avoided and / or reduced.

[0114] The assist system may be specifically configured to provide full-drive walking assistance to the user by assisting the walking motion of the user's first leg and the user's second leg. The full-drive walking assist system may specifically include one actuator providing assistance to each leg.

[0115] The assistance system may comprise a first sensor unit communicatively connected to the actuation control unit and configured to determine a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of a first hip of a first leg of the user. The first sensor unit may in particular be configured as described above.

[0116] The assist system may further comprise a first actuator, wherein the first actuator is configured to apply at least one force, preferably a pulling force, on a first leg of the user based on a first actuator control signal. The first actuator may be mountable on the user, for example on a harness worn by the user. For example, the harness may comprise a waist belt configured to be worn by the user, wherein the first actuator is mountable on the waist belt. The first actuator may be configured as a rotary actuator having a rotatable drive shaft. The first actuator may further comprise at least one first tendon at least partially wound around the rotatable drive shaft. The first tendon may also be fixedly connected to the first leg strap. Thus, the first actuator may be configured to rotate (in particular based on the actuator control signal) the drive shaft to tense the at least one first tendon to apply at least one force on the first leg.

[0117] The first sensor unit may be configured to provide a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of the first hip to the hip joint reference trajectory unit, wherein the hip joint reference trajectory unit may be configured to generate a first hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the first hip using a gait phase estimation model. .

[0118] The actuation feedback unit may be configured to receive a first current actuator state of the first actuator. The actuation feedback unit may also be configured to compare the first current actuator state with a first hip joint reference trajectory. The comparison is performed to generate a first actuator control signal. The actuation control unit may be configured to output the first actuator control signal to the first actuator to control the first actuator.

[0119] The assistance system may further comprise a second sensor unit communicatively connected to the actuation control unit and configured to determine the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the second hip of the second leg of the user. The second hip of the second leg of the user may be a hip directly connected to the second leg. The second sensor unit may be mountable on the second leg of the user, for example, on a harness at least partially worn by the user on the second leg. For example, the harness may comprise a second leg strap (e.g., a second thigh strap) configured to be worn by the user on the second leg, wherein the second sensor unit may be mountable on the second leg strap. The second sensor unit may comprise an IMU sensor (e.g., a Bosch BNO055 sensor) and a data communication unit (e.g., a Feather nRF52 unit).

[0120] The assist system may further comprise a second actuator, wherein the second actuator is configured to apply at least one force, preferably a pulling force, on the second leg of the user based on a second actuator control signal. The second actuator may be mountable on the user, for example on a harness worn by the user. For example, the harness may comprise a waist belt configured to be worn by the user, wherein the second actuator is mountable on the waist belt. The second actuator may be configured as a rotary actuator having a rotatable drive shaft. The second actuator may further comprise at least one second tendon at least partially wound around the rotatable drive shaft. The second tendon may also be fixedly connected to the second leg strap. Thus, the second actuator may be configured to rotate (in particular based on the second actuator control signal) the drive shaft to tense the at least one second tendon to apply at least one force on the second leg. Both the first actuator and the second actuator may be mounted on the same waist belt.

[0121] The second sensor unit may be configured to provide a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of the second hip to the hip joint reference trajectory unit, wherein the hip joint reference trajectory unit may be configured to generate a second hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the second hip using a gait phase estimation model. .

[0122] The actuation feedback unit may be configured to receive a second current actuator state of the second actuator. The actuation feedback unit may also be configured to compare the second current actuator state with the second hip joint reference trajectory. The comparison is performed to generate a second actuator control signal. The actuation control unit may be configured to output the second actuator control signal to the second actuator to control the second actuator.

[0123] Therefore, the effective provision of walking assistance can make all-wheel drive assistance systems possible.

[0124] Furthermore, it is noteworthy that, although the above exemplary embodiment is discussed based on providing a single actuation control unit that is configured to output a first actuator control signal to the first actuator to control the first actuator, and to output a second actuator control signal to the second actuator to control the second actuator, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the auxiliary system may further include an actuation control unit that provides assistance to each leg. Each of these actuation control units for each leg may be configured as an actuation control unit as described herein. In such a case, the auxiliary system may, for example, include a first actuation control unit that is configured to generate a first actuator control signal and output it to the first actuator to control the first actuator, and a second actuation control unit that is configured to generate a second actuator control signal and output it to the second actuator to control the second actuator.

[0125] The assistance system may be specifically configured to provide underactuated walking assistance to the user by assisting the walking motion of the user's first leg and the user's second leg.The underactuated walking assistance system may specifically include one actuator for providing assistance to both legs.

[0126] The assistance system may comprise a first sensor unit communicatively connected to the actuation control unit and configured to determine at least a hip joint angular position of a first hip of a first leg of the user.The first sensor unit may in particular be configured as described above.

[0127] The assistance system may further comprise a second sensor unit communicatively connected to the actuation control unit and configured to determine at least a hip joint angular position of a second hip of a second leg of the user.The second sensor unit may in particular be configured as described above.

[0128] The assist system may further include an actuator, wherein the actuator is configured to exert at least one force, preferably a pulling force, on the user's first leg and / or the user's second leg based on an actuator control signal. The actuator may be mountable on the user, such as on a harness worn by the user. For example, the harness may include a waist belt configured to be worn by the user, wherein the actuator is mountable on the waist belt. The actuator may be configured as a rotary actuator having a rotatable drive shaft.

[0129] The actuator may further comprise at least one first tendon at least partially wound around a rotatable drive shaft, preferably wound around the drive shaft in a first direction (e.g., clockwise). The at least one first tendon may further be fixedly connected to the first leg strap. The actuator may further comprise at least one second tendon at least partially wound around a rotatable drive shaft, preferably wound around the drive shaft in a second direction opposite to the first direction (e.g., counterclockwise). The at least one second tendon may further be fixedly connected to the second leg strap. Thus, the actuator may be configured to rotate (in particular, based on an actuator control signal) the drive shaft to tense and / or relax the at least one first tendon and the at least one second tendon, respectively, to apply at least one force on the first leg and / or the second leg, respectively.

[0130] However, the actuator is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the actuator may optionally include a first tendon that is at least partially wrapped around a rotatable drive shaft. The first tendon may be fixedly connected to the first leg strap at a first end of the first tendon and may be fixedly connected to the second leg strap at a second end of the first tendon, wherein the first tendon is at least partially wrapped around the rotatable drive shaft between the first and second ends of the first tendon. Thus, the actuator can be configured to rotate (particularly based on an actuator control signal) the rotatable drive shaft to apply at least one force on the first leg and / or the second leg, respectively.

[0131] The hip joint reference trajectory unit may be configured to receive a hip joint angular position of a first hip from the first sensor unit and a hip joint angular position of a second hip from the second sensor unit. The hip joint reference trajectory unit may be configured to determine an inter-limb flexion angle as a difference between the hip joint angular position of the first hip and the hip joint angular position of the second hip. The hip joint reference unit may also be configured to determine a hip angular velocity (e.g., as an inter-limb flexion angular velocity) based on the inter-limb flexion angle (e.g., as a time derivative of the inter-limb flexion angle).

[0132] The hip joint reference trajectory unit may also be configured to generate a hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information, preferably based on the determined inter-limb flexion angle and the determined inter-limb flexion angular velocity, using the gait phase estimation model. .

[0133] The actuator feedback unit may be configured to receive a current actuator state of the actuator and compare the current actuator state to a hip joint reference trajectory. The comparison is performed to generate an actuator control signal, wherein the actuation control unit is configured to output the actuator control signal to control the actuator. In particular, the actuator control signal can be a symmetrical control signal.

[0134] Any sensor unit described herein that can be mounted to at least one leg of a user can be configured to be mounted on the lateral side of the user's corresponding leg. In particular, the lateral side can be, for example, the lateral side of the corresponding first leg band and / or second leg band.

[0135] Any tendon described herein may, for example, be a cable, wherein each cable may be at least partially surrounded by a corresponding Bowden sheath (e.g., between an actuator and a waist belt worn by a user). An exemplary cable may be a Kevlar cable, such as a black braided Kevlar fiber (e.g., commercially available cable KT5703-06, 2.2 kN maximum load, Loma Linda, CA, USA). However, the tendons are not limited thereto, and other types of force transmission elements may also be provided. For example, one or more tendons may be implemented as a belt, such as a fabric belt. Each force transmission element may be connected to a corresponding actuator and at least one anchor point, wherein at least one anchor point may be arranged proximal to the user, such as on a harness mounted on the user. The at least one anchor point may be arranged on the harness depending on the walking assistance provided. For example, for walking assistance provided to a walking motion involving hip flexion, the at least one anchor point may be arranged on the front of the user's corresponding thigh. However, other and / or more arrangements of the at least one anchor point may be implemented, such as depending on the individual needs of the user.

[0136] By providing such an auxiliary system as described herein, a three-layer system can be implemented, comprising a sensing layer including one or more sensors, a control layer including an actuation control unit, and an actuation layer including one or more actuators. In addition, the actuation control unit can be configured as a three-layer actuation control unit, comprising a high-level layer for gait phase estimation, a middle-level layer for determining a hip joint reference trajectory, and a low-level layer for generating actuator control signals. Thus, the actuation control unit can be configured to enable efficient software-hardware interaction between the three-layer system and the three-layer operating method of the actuation control unit.

[0137] The auxiliary system may further include at least one power source configured to provide power to at least one component of the auxiliary system (e.g., the actuation control unit, the first sensor unit, the second sensor unit, the first actuator, and / or the second actuator). The at least one power source may be rechargeable. Exemplary power sources may be (preferably rechargeable) lithium polymer batteries and / or lithium ion batteries. However, other types of power sources may be implemented.

[0138] In particular, a primary power source can be provided to power multiple components of the auxiliary system. Such a primary power source can allow for better weight and volume reduction of the auxiliary system and can allow for easier charging and / or replacement of the primary power source. The primary power source can be releasably connected to at least one component of the auxiliary system to power the at least one component. This can allow for easier installation of the auxiliary system on the user and / or facilitate charging of the primary power source. The primary power source can, for example, be mounted on a waist belt of a harness for the auxiliary system.

[0139] Alternatively, one or more components of the auxiliary system can be equipped with their own dedicated power source. For example, a first sensor unit can be equipped with a first sensor power source, which is configured to provide power to the first sensor. Such an approach can allow for more efficient power distribution and management of the auxiliary system, as different components of the auxiliary system may have different power requirements and / or may require power at different times. Furthermore, power routing within the auxiliary system can thereby be significantly facilitated, as the number of power cable elements configured to transmit power between at least one power source and one or more components can be reduced. Furthermore, this can allow, for example, the auxiliary system harness to be provided as a modular harness, which can, for example, further facilitate installation and removal of the auxiliary system.

[0140] The auxiliary system may further include at least one operational data collection unit. The operational data collection unit may be configured to collect operational data of one or more components of the auxiliary system. The operational data may indicate the operational status of the corresponding one or more components. The operational data may, for example, include the energy storage level of at least one power source, power consumption data of one or more components, internal state information of one or more components, one or more data signals (e.g., actuator control signals) generated by one or more components, and / or one or more error indicators. The operational data collection unit may be configured to process the collected operational data to monitor the correct functioning of the auxiliary system. The operational data collection unit may be configured to at least partially store the collected operational data and / or output the collected operational data. For example, it may thereby obtain historical usage data of the auxiliary system and / or historical diagnostic data related to the functioning of the auxiliary system.

[0141] The assistive system can also have multiple hardware implementations. For example, the assistive system can be a rigid exoskeleton or a soft exosuit. The assistive system can be an underactuated assistive system or a fully actuated assistive system. In addition, the assistive system can be a tendon-driven assistive system, but other implementations can also be provided. Therefore, the assistive system as described herein allows for a very high degree of variation in hardware configurations and / or provides a high degree of hardware commonality.

[0142] In addition, the assistance system may also include an environment monitoring unit. The environment monitoring unit can be configured to monitor the environment of the assistance system, such as the ground environment in the walking direction and / or in front of the user. For example, the environment monitoring unit may include one or more sensors (e.g., optical sensors and / or cameras) to measure the environment of the assistance system. The environment monitoring unit can be configured to obtain environmental data indicating the environment of the assistance system, for example, via one or more sensors and / or via computer vision. The environmental data may, for example, include a classification of the environment, such as "flat ground," "upward stairs," "downward stairs," "upward ramp," and / or "downward ramp," to name a few non-limiting examples. The environmental data may also include quantitative data of the environment, such as a surface model and / or description, slope, obstacles, etc. Based on the environmental data, the assistance system and / or the actuation feedback unit and / or the actuation control unit may be configured to adjust the generated actuator control signals to take into account the environment of the assistance system. Therefore, the assistance system may also be configured to provide walking assistance to the user based at least in part on the environment of the assistance system.

[0143] Therefore, the assistance system can be configured to accommodate an additional control layer that allows the walking assistance to be adjusted according to the surrounding environment of the assistance system. This can be particularly advantageous if the user must climb stairs or negotiate a ramp rather than walking on level ground, thereby improving overall performance and reliability.

[0144] According to another aspect, a computer-implemented method for controlling an assistance system configured to provide walking assistance to a user by assisting a walking motion of at least one leg of the user is disclosed. The method includes receiving hip angle state information of at least one hip of at least one leg, generating a hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information using a gait phase estimation model, , receiving a current actuator state of an actuator configured to assist walking motion, comparing the current actuator state to a hip joint reference trajectory The comparison is performed to generate an actuator control signal, and the actuator control signal is output to control the actuator.

[0145] In particular, the method may comprise any combination of features as described herein, such as features of the assistance system.

[0146] According to another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method for controlling an assistance system configured to provide walking assistance to a user by assisting a walking motion of at least one leg of the user. The instructions may include instructions for causing the computing system to perform the following steps: receiving hip angle state information of at least one hip of at least one leg, generating a hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information using a gait phase estimation model; , receiving a current actuator state of an actuator configured to assist walking motion, comparing the current actuator state to a hip joint reference trajectory The comparison is performed to generate an actuator control signal, and the actuator control signal is output to control the actuator.

[0147] In particular, the storage medium may comprise any combination of features as described herein, such as features of the assistance system and / or the method.

[0148] Aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure will now be further explained in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings and described below should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0149] The accompanying drawings show:

[0150] Figure 1 A simplified schematic diagram of an exemplary assistance system 100 is shown.

[0151] The user U is shown during an exemplary walking motion W, in which the user U walks substantially straight in a forward direction.

[0152] The user U also wears a harness of the exemplary assistive system 100 , wherein the harness includes at least a waist belt B1 , a first thigh belt B2 , and a second thigh belt B3 .

[0153] The waist belt B1 is mounted on the user U at the waist region of the user U and is configured to conform smoothly to the user's waist. The waist belt B1 may be made of, for example, a flexible fabric and / or an elastomer. The exemplary actuator A is mounted on the waist belt B1 so that the actuator A can be worn by the user U during a walking motion W.

[0154] The first thigh band B2 is mounted on the user U, in the thigh area of ​​the right thigh of the user U, in particular, proximal to the right knee, and is configured to smoothly conform to the right thigh of the user. The first thigh band B2 may be made of, for example, a flexible fabric and / or an elastomer. An exemplary first sensor unit S is mounted on the first thigh band B2, in particular, on the lateral side of the first thigh band B2, so that the first sensor unit S can be worn by the user U during the walking motion W. Furthermore, the first sensor unit S is configured to determine the hip joint angular position and / or hip joint angular velocity of the user U, for example, as Figure 1 As shown in the figure inserted in FIG. It can be understood that, Figure 1 The determined hip joint angular positions and hip joint angular velocities shown are intended to be illustrative / exemplary only.

[0155] Second thigh band B3 is mounted on user U's left thigh, specifically near the left knee, and is configured to conform smoothly to the user's left thigh. Second thigh band B3 can be made, for example, of a flexible fabric and / or elastomer. An exemplary second sensor unit (not shown due to illustrative perspective) can be mounted on second thigh band B3, specifically on a lateral surface thereof, so that the second sensor unit can be worn by user U during walking motion W. Furthermore, the second sensor unit can be configured similarly to first sensor unit S.

[0156] In particular, the actuator A can include two tendons T, shown as two exemplary cables, extending from the actuator A to the first thigh strap B2 and the second thigh strap B3, respectively. The tendons T can each be at least partially surrounded by a corresponding Bowden sheath TB, for example, in the area between the actuator A and the waist belt B1. The actuator A can be configured to apply tension to the tendons T to assist the walking motion W of the user U.

[0157] An actuation control unit (not explicitly shown) may be configured to receive the hip joint angular position and / or hip joint angular velocity measured by the first sensor unit S and the second sensor unit. The actuation control unit may be configured to generate an actuator control signal based on the received hip joint angular position and / or hip joint angular velocity. The actuator control signal is output to actuator A to control actuator A.

[0158] Figure 2 An exemplary determination of the polar angle is shown.

[0159] The polar angle may be the polar angle between the hip joint angular position and the hip angular velocity in the hip phase diagram. Alternatively, the polar angle may be the polar angle between the interlimb flexion angle and the interlimb flexion angular velocity in the hip phase diagram. Specifically, the polar angle may be the hip joint angular position in the hip phase space. and hip angular velocity The angle between the two and can indicate the progression of walking motion along the gait cycle.

[0160] The hip phase diagram can be understood as a graphical representation of the hip kinematics of at least one hip in the hip phase space, e.g. Figure 2 In particular, the hip phase space is a mathematical space generated by the hip joint angular position abscissa axis and the hip joint angular velocity ordinate axis, as shown. Based on any point in time t The received hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity can be used to determine the corresponding hip kinematic position in the hip phase space, and the corresponding polar angle can be determined from the hip phase diagram for the position.

[0161] Furthermore, during the user's walking motion, the hip joint angle position and hip angular velocity Each can present a periodic trajectory. Can have relative to the hip joint angle position offset. Therefore, the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity It is possible to generate circular orbits in the hip phase space, such as Figure 2 As shown in the circle.

[0162] Figure 3 Example polar angles and estimated gait phases are shown It is worth noting that Figure 3 The data shown corresponds to exemplary data that should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 3 The exemplary data shown corresponds to experimental data obtained using an exemplary assistance system according to the present disclosure worn by a user during a period of outdoor walking.

[0163] In particular, the gait phase estimation model is configured to estimate the gait phase based on the polar angle (e.g., as determined in hip phase space, as Figure 2 ) to determine an estimated gait phase representing the progression of walking motion along the gait cycle .like Figure 3 As shown, the polar angle can be followed as a function of the hip joint angular position (in Figure 3 ). In the example shown, the hip joint angular position is the interlimb flexion angle as described herein and is based on exemplary data received from an exemplary sensor unit.

[0164] Therefore, the estimated gait phase Can be used as hip angle position and hip angular velocity function (i.e., as ) to obtain.

[0165] Figure 3Specifically shown are the hip joint angle positions during a typical walking cycle of user U. The interlimb flexion angle and the corresponding polar angle are determined. Specifically, Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the polar angle can indicate the user's progress along the walking cycle.

[0166] Figure 4 An exemplary assistance system 100 is shown.

[0167] The assistance system 100 is configured to provide walking assistance to the user U by assisting the walking motion of at least one leg of the user U.

[0168] The assistance system 100 may include a first sensor unit S1 configured to determine a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of a first hip of a first leg of a user U. The first sensor unit S1 may be mountable on the first leg of the user U, for example, on a harness at least partially worn by the user U on the first leg.

[0169] The first sensor unit S1 may be configured to provide the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the first hip as partial hip angular state information H to the hip joint reference trajectory unit 10 of the actuation control unit 1 .

[0170] The assistance system 100 may further include a second sensor unit S2 configured to determine a hip joint angular position and a hip joint angular velocity of a second hip of the first leg of the user U. The second sensor unit S2 may be mountable on the second leg of the user U, for example, on a harness at least partially worn by the user U on the second leg.

[0171] The second sensor unit S2 may be configured to provide the hip joint angular position and the hip joint angular velocity as the partial hip angle state information H to the hip joint reference trajectory unit 10 of the actuation control unit 1 .

[0172] However, the assistance system 100 is not limited to such an embodiment and may include, for example, more, fewer, or no sensor units. In particular, the assistance system 100 may be connectable to one or more sensor units to receive hip angle status information H without including corresponding sensor units.

[0173] The assistance system 100 further comprises an actuation control unit 1. The actuation control unit 1 may be configured to generate at least actuator control signals C1, C2 to control the actuators A1, A2.

[0174] The actuation control unit 1 includes a hip joint reference trajectory unit 10. The hip joint reference trajectory unit 10 is configured to receive hip angle state information H of at least one hip of the user U (eg, a first hip and a second hip of the user U).

[0175] The hip joint reference trajectory unit 10 is further configured to generate a hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information H using a gait phase estimation model. In this example, the hip joint reference trajectory The first hip joint reference trajectory may include a first hip and a second hip, respectively and the second hip joint reference trajectory The gait phase estimation model may be configured to estimate the current and / or future physical state of the at least one hip based on various parameters of the user U. The hip joint reference trajectory unit 10 is configured to output a hip joint reference trajectory .

[0176] The actuation control unit 1 further includes an actuation feedback unit 20. The actuation feedback unit 20 is configured to receive the hip joint reference trajectory from the hip joint reference trajectory unit 10. .

[0177] The actuation feedback unit 20 is further configured to receive current actuator states CA1 , CA2 of actuators A1 , A2 configured to assist the walking motion of the user U. The current actuator states CA1 , CA2 may include current actuation states of the actuators A1 , A2 .

[0178] In the exemplary assist system 100, the actuation feedback unit 20 is configured to receive a first current actuator state CA1 from a first actuator A1 and a second current actuator state CA2 from a second actuator A2. The first and second actuators A1, A2 may be, for example, rotary actuators configured to apply tension to tendons connected to the first and second hips, respectively, to apply forces to the first and second hips, respectively.

[0179] The actuation feedback unit 20 may be connected to the first actuator A1 and the second actuator A2 to output a first actuator control signal C1 and a second actuator control signal C2.

[0180] The actuation feedback unit 20 is further configured to compare the first current actuator state CA1 with the first hip joint reference trajectory The actuator feedback unit 20 is further configured to compare the second current actuator state CA2 with the second hip joint reference trajectory. The comparison is performed to generate a second actuator control signal C2.

[0181] The actuation control unit 1 is further configured to output a first actuator control signal C1 to control the first actuator A1 , and output a second actuator control signal C2 to control the second actuator A2 .

[0182] The auxiliary system 100 may specifically include a first actuator A1 and a second actuator A2, but is not limited to such an embodiment and may, for example, include more, fewer, or no actuators. In particular, the auxiliary system 100 may, for example, be connectable to one or more actuators to output an actuator control signal to any of the one or more actuators.

[0183] Figure 5 An exemplary computer-implemented method 200 is shown for controlling an assistance system 100 configured to provide walking assistance to a user U by assisting walking motions of at least one leg of the user U.

[0184] In a first step 201, the method 200 includes receiving hip angle state information H of at least one hip of at least one leg. In a second step 202, the method 200 further includes generating a hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information H using a gait phase estimation model. .

[0185] In a third step 203, the method 200 further comprises receiving a current actuator state of an actuator configured to assist walking motion. In a further step 204, the method 200 comprises comparing the current actuator state to a hip joint reference trajectory. To generate an actuator control signal.

[0186] At step 205 , method 200 includes outputting an actuator control signal to control the actuator.

[0187] Figure 6 Hip joint reference trajectory is shown (exist Figure 6 Figure 1 shows an exemplary graph of the actuator reference trajectory and the polar angle, illustrating the exemplary impact of the application of the Kalman filter. In particular, the hip joint reference trajectory Can be based on approximate dynamic behavior (which may be generated at least in part based on the polar angle, as described herein) to generate a hip joint reference trajectory. Previously applied to the approximate dynamic behavior .

[0188] It is worth noting that Figure 6 The data shown corresponds to exemplary data that should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 6 The exemplary data shown corresponds to and / or is based on experimental data obtained using an exemplary assistance system according to the present disclosure worn by a user during a period of outdoor walking.

[0189] In particular, it can be seen that noise from the hip angle state information (e.g., as shown in the plot of the polar angle) is also present in the hip joint reference trajectory before the Kalman filter is applied. , where after applying the Kalman filter, such noise is not Significantly reduced.

[0190] Therefore, the hip joint reference trajectory can be significantly improved by applying the Kalman filter robustness, as described in this paper.

[0191] Figure 7 Shows an exemplary hip joint reference trajectory for a fully driven walking assist system (exist Figure 7 The reference trajectory of the actuator is marked in the figure) and the exemplary hip joint angular position is marked in the figure Figure 7 An exemplary diagram of the hip angle position in FIG is shown, which illustrates the exemplary effect of the application of interpolation as described herein. Figure 7 The signal amplitudes shown in the graphs may depend on the hardware design of the exemplary all-drive pedestrian assist system.

[0192] Approximate dynamic behavior as described in this paper The generated position may be based at least in part on the illustrated hip joint angular position of the first hip.

[0193] Hip joint reference trajectory The hip joint reference trajectory unit can be based on the approximate dynamic behavior To generate, where the hip joint reference trajectory is generated The approximate dynamic behavior can be Apply the Kalman filter. The hip joint reference trajectory is exist Figure 7 Shown by dotted lines.

[0194] Optionally, the hip joint reference trajectory The hip joint reference trajectory unit can be based on the approximate dynamic behavior To generate, where the hip joint reference trajectory is generated The approximate dynamic behavior can be Apply a Kalman filter and interpolation as described in this article. The interpolation applied can be a cubic spline interpolation as described in this article. The hip joint reference trajectory is thus exist Figure 7 The middle is shown by a thick solid line.

[0195] The resulting hip joint reference trajectory after applying the Kalman filter and interpolation Can be provided to the actuator feedback unit to generate an actuator control signal to control the actuator in the full-drive walking assist system, as described above. In particular, in such a full-drive walking assist system, an actuator can be provided for each leg of the user (e.g., the first leg).

[0196] In addition, from Figure 7 As can be seen in FIG, in the fully driven system, the gait cycle of the user's first leg can be divided into a hip extension region and a hip flexion region. Furthermore, in the system shown, the actuator control signal can be configured to control the actuator to apply tension on the corresponding force transfer element (e.g., a tendon connected to the first leg) in the hip flexion region, and to control the actuator to provide relaxation in the force transfer element in the hip extension region. This can also be achieved by applying the interpolation to the hip reference trajectory generated after This is indicated by a change in the sign of .

[0197] Figure 8 Showing an exemplary hip joint reference trajectory for an underactuated walking assist system (exist Figure 8 Reference trajectories of the actuators are marked in the figure) and exemplary interlimb flexion angles (in the figure). Figure 8 An exemplary graph of the inter-limb hip flexion angle (labeled as inter-limb hip flexion angle in FIG) illustrates an exemplary effect of the application of interpolation. In particular, an underactuated walking assistance system may include one actuator for providing assistance to both legs of a user. Note also that Figure 8 The signal amplitudes shown in the figures may depend on the hardware design of the exemplary under-actuated walking assistance system.

[0198] Approximate dynamic behavior as described in this paper Can be generated based at least in part on the indicated inter-limb flexion angles.

[0199] Hip joint reference trajectory The hip joint reference trajectory unit can be based on the approximate dynamic behavior To generate, where the hip joint reference trajectory is generated The approximate dynamic behavior can be Apply the Kalman filter. The hip joint reference trajectory is exist Figure 8 Shown by dotted lines.

[0200] Optionally, the hip joint reference trajectory The hip joint reference trajectory unit can be based on the approximate dynamic behavior To generate, where the hip joint reference trajectory is generated The approximate dynamic behavior can be Apply a Kalman filter and interpolation as described in this article. The interpolation applied can be a cubic spline interpolation as described in this article. The hip joint reference trajectory is thus exist Figure 8 The middle is shown by a thick solid line.

[0201] In addition, from Figure 8 It can be seen that in such an under-actuated walking assist system, the user's gait cycle can be divided into a hip flexion region of the user's right leg and a hip flexion region of the user's left leg. In addition, in the system shown, the actuator control signal can be configured to control the actuator to apply a tension on a corresponding first force transfer element (e.g., a tendon connected to the right leg) in the hip flexion region of the right leg, and to control the actuator to apply a tension on a corresponding second force transfer element (e.g., a tendon connected to the left leg) in the hip flexion region of the left leg. In addition, because the exemplary system is under-actuated, applying a tension to one of the first or second force transfer elements provides slack in the other of the first and second force transfer elements.

[0202] In addition, along Figure 8 The y-axis value can reflect the radius of the actuator pulley and the rotation direction of the actuator.

[0203] Figure 9 A simplified schematic diagram illustrating the operation of an exemplary underactuated walking assist system as described herein is shown. The exemplary underactuated walking assist system may be configured to provide walking assistance to a user by assisting the walking motion of two legs of the user.

[0204] An exemplary walking assist system may include an actuation control unit, wherein the actuation control unit includes a hip joint reference trajectory unit and an actuation feedback unit, as described herein.

[0205] The actuation control unit may be configured to receive as input hip angle state information, wherein the hip angle state information includes an inter-limb flexion angle, as described herein. The inter-limb flexion angle may be determined as a difference between the hip joint angle positions of the user's first and second hips.

[0206] The actuation control unit may be further configured to generate a hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information. The actuation control unit may be configured to compare the hip joint reference trajectory with the received current actuator state of the actuator of the under-actuated walking assistance system to generate and output an actuator control signal to control the actuator.

[0207] The actuator can be, for example, a rotary actuator comprising a pulley rotatable about an axis of rotation, wherein the right and left hamstrings are at least partially wrapped around the pulley. The right hamstring can be coupled to the user's right leg, and the left hamstring can be coupled to the user's left leg, such that rotation of the pulley by the actuator applies a pulling force to the right or left leg.

[0208] Figure 10 A simplified schematic diagram illustrating the operation of an exemplary all-drive walking assist system as described herein is shown. The exemplary all-drive walking assist system may be configured to provide walking assistance to a user by assisting the walking motion of the user's two legs.

[0209] An exemplary walking assist system may include a first actuation control unit, wherein the first actuation control unit includes a first hip joint reference trajectory unit and a first actuation feedback unit, as described herein.

[0210] The first actuation control unit may be configured to receive as input first hip angle state information, wherein the first hip angle state information comprises a first hip flexion angle of a first (eg, right) hip of the user, as described herein.

[0211] The first actuation control unit may be further configured to generate a first hip joint reference trajectory based on the received first hip angle state information. The first actuation control unit may be configured to compare the first hip joint reference trajectory with the received first current actuator state of the first actuator of the full-drive walking assistance system to generate and output a first actuator control signal to control the first actuator.

[0212] The first actuator can be, for example, a rotary actuator including a first pulley rotatable about a first rotation axis, wherein the right hamstring is at least partially wrapped around the first pulley. The right hamstring can be coupled to the user's right leg such that rotation of the first pulley by the first actuator applies a pulling force to the right leg.

[0213] An exemplary walking assist system may include a second actuation control unit, wherein the second actuation control unit includes a second hip joint reference trajectory unit and a second actuation feedback unit, as described herein.

[0214] The second actuation control unit may be configured to receive as input second hip angle state information, wherein the second hip angle state information includes a second hip flexion angle of a second (eg, left) hip of the user, as described herein.

[0215] The second actuation control unit may be further configured to generate a second hip joint reference trajectory based on the received second hip angle state information. The second actuation control unit may be configured to compare the second hip joint reference trajectory with the received second current actuator state of the second actuator of the full-drive walking assistance system to generate and output a second actuator control signal to control the second actuator.

[0216] The second actuator can be, for example, a rotary actuator including a second pulley rotatable about a second rotation axis, wherein the left hamstring is at least partially wrapped around the second pulley. The left hamstring can be coupled to the user's left leg such that rotation of the second pulley by the second actuator applies a pulling force to the left leg.

[0217] In particular, the first actuator control signal and the second actuator control signal may be out of phase with each other. Furthermore, the first actuator signal may be converted into the second actuator signal by phase shifting the first actuator signal. In such a case, the provision of a second actuation control unit may be omitted.

[0218] The first and second actuation control units may be independent of each other. Alternatively, the first and second actuation control units may share data and / or power between them.

[0219] The first and second actuators may be independent of each other. However, the first and second actuators are not limited thereto. For example, the first and second actuators may be composed of a common actuator module.

[0220] Figures 11A to 11C Simplified schematic diagrams of possible exemplary tendon arrangements for assisted walking motions including different exemplary leg motions such as hip flexion, hip extension, and hip abduction are shown.

[0221] Figure 11A An exemplary assistive system 100 is shown worn by a user U during an exemplary walking motion W. The exemplary walking motion W shown may include hip flexion of the user U's hip. Figure 11A A perspective view of user U is shown from the front of user U.

[0222] The exemplary walking assistance system 100 may include a harness worn by a user U, wherein the harness includes at least a waist belt B1 , a first thigh belt B2 , and a second thigh belt B3 .

[0223] The waist belt B1 may be worn by the user U around the waist region, wherein one or more actuators A may be mounted on the waist belt B1. Figure 11A , the one or more actuators A are mounted proximal to the rear of the user and are therefore not shown.

[0224] The first thigh band B2 is mounted on the user U in the thigh region of the user's U right thigh, while the second thigh band B3 is mounted on the user U in the thigh region of the user's U left thigh.

[0225] The exemplary assist system 100 may include two (schematically shown) tendons T extending from one or more actuators A to the first thigh band B2 and the second thigh band B3, respectively. Specifically, each tendon T may be connected to one or more actuators A and to an anchor point AP on the corresponding first thigh band B2 or second thigh band B3.

[0226] In the exemplary assistance system 100 currently shown, a walking motion W of a user U is assisted, where the walking motion W includes hip flexion of the user U's hip. The position of the anchor point AP can be selected accordingly. For example, to assist with hip flexion, the anchor point AP can be located at the center of the front side of the first thigh band B2 and the second thigh band B3, respectively. The front sides of the first thigh band B2 and the second thigh band B3 can be specifically arranged at the front sides of the user U's respective thighs.

[0227] Thus, the one or more actuators A may be configured to exert tension on the tendon T to assist the walking motion W of the user U, particularly hip flexion of the user's U hip.

[0228] Figure 11B An exemplary assistive system 100 is shown worn by a user U during an exemplary walking motion W. The exemplary walking motion W shown may include hip extension of the user U's hip. Figure 11B A perspective view of user U is shown from behind the user U.

[0229] An exemplary walking assistance system 100 may include a harness worn by a user U, wherein the harness includes at least a waist belt B1, a first thigh belt B2, and a second thigh belt B3. The waist belt B1 may be worn by the user U around the waist, with two actuators A mounted on the waist belt B1. The first thigh belt B2 is mounted on the user U's right thigh, while the second thigh belt B3 is mounted on the user U's left thigh.

[0230] The exemplary assist system 100 may include two (schematically shown) tendons T, each extending from one of the actuators A to the first thigh strap B2 and the second thigh strap B3. Specifically, each tendon T may be connected to one of the actuators A and to an anchor point AP on the corresponding first thigh strap B2 or second thigh strap B3.

[0231] In the exemplary assistance system 100 currently shown, a walking motion W of a user U is assisted, where the walking motion W includes hip extension of the user U's hips. The location of the anchor point AP can be selected accordingly. For example, to assist with hip extension, the anchor point AP can be located at the center of the rear portion of the first thigh strap B2 and the second thigh strap B3, respectively. The rear sides of the first thigh strap B2 and the second thigh strap B3 can be specifically positioned at the rear side of the user U's respective thighs.

[0232] Therefore, the two actuators A can be configured to apply tension on the corresponding tendons T to assist the walking motion W of the user U, particularly the hip extension of the user's U hip.

[0233] Figure 11C An exemplary assistive system 100 is shown worn by a user U during an exemplary walking motion W. The exemplary walking motion W shown may include hip abduction of the user U's hip. Figure 11C A perspective view of user U is shown from the front of user U.

[0234] The exemplary walking assistance system 100 may include a harness worn by a user U, wherein the harness includes at least a waist belt B1, a first thigh belt B2, and a second thigh belt B3. The waist belt B1 may be worn by the user U around the waist region, wherein one or more actuators A (not shown) may be mounted on the waist belt B1. The first thigh belt B2 is mounted on the user U in the thigh region of the right thigh, while the second thigh belt B3 is mounted on the user U in the thigh region of the left thigh.

[0235] The exemplary assist system 100 may include two (schematically shown) tendons T extending from one or more actuators A to the first thigh band B2 and the second thigh band B3, respectively. Specifically, each tendon T may be connected to one or more actuators A and to an anchor point AP on the corresponding first thigh band B2 or second thigh band B3.

[0236] In the exemplary assistance system 100 currently shown, a walking motion W of a user U is assisted, where the walking motion W includes hip abduction of the user U's hips. The location of the anchor point AP can be selected accordingly. For example, to assist with hip abduction, the anchor point AP can be located at the center of the lateral outer sides of the first thigh strap B2 and the second thigh strap B3, respectively. The lateral outer sides of the first thigh strap B2 and the second thigh strap B3 can specifically be arranged on the lateral outer sides of the user U's respective thighs.

[0237] Thus, one or more actuators A may be configured to exert tension on the tendon T to assist the walking motion W of the user U, particularly hip abduction of the user's U hip.

[0238] The present invention is not limited by any of the exemplary embodiments described and / or shown herein. Instead, the invention is defined by the independent claims, with preferred embodiments forming the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0239] Reference Symbols

Claims

1. An assistance system (100) configured to provide walking assistance to a user (U) by assisting a walking movement (W) of at least one leg of the user (U), the assistance system (100) comprising: An actuation control unit (1) comprising: A hip joint reference trajectory unit (10) configured to: receiving hip angle state information (H) of at least one hip of said at least one leg, and Use the gait phase estimation model to generate the hip joint reference trajectory based on the received hip angle state information (H) , An actuation feedback unit (20) configured to: receiving a current actuator state (CA1, CA2) of an actuator (A, A1, A2), said actuator (A, A1, A2) being configured to assist said walking motion (W), and Compare the current actuator state (CA1, CA2) with the hip joint reference trajectory Compare to generate actuator control signals (C1, C2), The actuation control unit (1) is configured to output the actuator control signal (C1, C2) to control the actuator (A, A1, A2).

2. The assistance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the gait phase estimation model is configured to determine a motion state of the hip during at least a portion of a walking cycle motion of the leg based on at least one modeling parameter and / or the received hip angle state information, Wherein generating the hip joint reference trajectory comprises evaluating the at least one modeling parameter to fit the gait phase estimation model to the received hip angle state information (H).

3. The assistance system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hip angle state information (H) comprises a hip joint angle position of the at least one hip and / or a hip angular velocity of the at least one hip, and The gait phase estimation model is configured to receive the hip joint angular position and / or the hip angular velocity as input to generate the hip joint reference trajectory. .

4. The assistance system (100) according to claim 3, wherein the gait phase estimation model is configured to: determining the polar angle between the hip joint angular position and the hip angular velocity in the hip phase diagram, determining an estimated gait phase representing the progression of the walking motion (W) along a gait cycle based on the polar angle, and approximating a dynamic behavior of the at least one hip based on the estimated gait phase , where the hip joint reference trajectory Based on approximate dynamic behavior generated.

5. The assistance system (100) according to claim 4, wherein the gait phase estimation model is further configured to: centering and normalizing the hip joint angular position and the hip angular velocity before determining the estimated gait phase, and Wherein the polar angle is determined between the centered and normalized hip joint angular position and the centered and normalized hip angular velocity.

6. The assistance system (100) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the gait phase estimation model is further configured to: In generating the hip joint reference trajectory Previously, the approximate dynamic behavior of the at least one hip Apply the Kalman filter.

7. The assistance system (100) according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the gait phase estimation model is further configured to: By approximating the dynamic behavior of the at least one hip Apply interpolation to generate the hip joint reference trajectory .

8. The assistance system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the actuation feedback unit (20) is a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller.

9. The assistance system (100) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, further comprising: a first sensor unit (S, S1) communicatively connected to the actuation control unit (1) and configured to determine a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of a first hip of a first leg of the user (U); and the actuator (A, A1, A2), wherein the actuator (A, A1, A2) is configured to exert at least one force on a first leg of the user (U) based on the actuator control signal (C1, C2), The actuation control unit (1) is configured to generate the actuator control signals (C1, C2) based on the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the first hip.

10. The assistance system (100) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, further comprising: a first sensor unit (S, S1) communicatively connected to the actuation control unit (1) and configured to determine at least a hip joint angular position of a first hip of a first leg of the user (U); a second sensor unit (S2) in communication with the actuation control unit (1) and configured to determine at least a hip joint angular position of a second hip of a second leg of the user (U), The gait phase estimation model is configured to receive the following as input: the hip angular position as an inter-limb flexion angle based on the hip joint angular position of the first hip and the hip joint angular position of the second hip, the hip angular velocity as an inter-limb flexion angular velocity based on the hip angular velocities of the first hip and the second hip; and The actuator (A, A1, A2), wherein the actuator (A, A1, A2) is configured to exert at least one force on the first leg and / or on the second leg of the user (U) based on the actuator control signal (C1, C2).

11. The assistance system (100) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, further comprising: a first sensor unit (S, S1) communicatively connected to the actuation control unit (1) and configured to determine a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of a first hip of a first leg of the user (U), wherein the hip joint reference trajectory unit (10) is configured to generate a first hip joint reference trajectory based on the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the first hip, wherein the actuation feedback unit (20) is configured to receive a first current actuator state (CA1) of a first actuator (A1), the first actuator (A1) being configured to exert at least one force on a first leg of the user (U), wherein the actuation feedback unit (20) is configured to compare the first actuator state (CA1) with the first hip joint reference trajectory to generate a first actuator control signal (C1); a second sensor unit (S2) communicatively connected to the actuation control unit (1) and configured to determine a hip joint angular position and a hip angular velocity of a second hip of a second leg of the user (U), wherein the hip joint reference trajectory unit (10) is configured to generate a second hip joint reference trajectory based on the hip joint angular position and hip angular velocity of the second hip, wherein the actuation feedback unit (20) is configured to receive a second current actuator state (CA2) of a second actuator (A2), the second actuator (A2) being configured to exert at least one force on a second leg of the user (U), wherein the actuation feedback unit (20) is configured to compare the second actuator state (CA2) with the second hip joint reference trajectory to generate a second actuator control signal (C2); the first actuator (A1), wherein the first actuator (A1) is configured to exert at least one force on the first leg based on the first actuator control signal (C1); and The second actuator (A2), wherein the second actuator (A2) is configured to exert at least one force on the second leg based on the second actuator control signal (C2).

12. The assistance system (100) according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the first sensor unit (S, S1) and / or the second sensor unit (S2) are mountable on a lateral side of a respective leg of the user (U).

13. A computer-implemented method (200) for controlling an assistance system (100) configured to provide walking assistance to a user (U) by assisting a walking motion (W) of at least one leg of the user (U), the method comprising: receiving hip angle state information (H) of at least one hip of the at least one leg; Using the gait phase estimation model, a hip joint reference trajectory is generated based on the received hip angle state information (H) ; receiving a current actuator state (CA1, CA2) of an actuator (A, A1, A2), said actuator (A, A1, A2) being configured to assist said walking motion (W); Compare the current actuator state (CA1, CA2) with the hip joint reference trajectory performing comparisons to generate actuator control signals (C1, C2); and The actuator control signal (C1, C2) is output to control the actuator (A, A1, A2).

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform the method of claim 13.

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