Gait Trajectory Control for Mobility Devices
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobility devices worn on the feet, such as motorized roller-skate-like devices, require unnatural movements for speed control and lack coordination with the user's gait, making them inefficient for walking assistance.
Innovation Solution
A control system comprising sensors and processors in each mobility device that analyze the user's motion data to adapt motor control, allowing for enhanced speed and stride management without user input, enabling faster walking by synchronizing with the user's gait and incorporating features like stair detection and emergency braking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If motorized roller-skate like devices are used for mobility assistance, then motor control is provided, but the control requires unnatural movements and lacks coordination with user's actual gait
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically detects user gait parameters (stride length, cadence, walking speed) through sensors and autonomously adjusts motor assistance without requiring user input or learning, allowing the system to serve itself by adapting to natural human movement patterns
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors user motion through accelerometers, gyroscopes, and other sensors, processes this feedback data to estimate gait trajectory, and dynamically adjusts motor control commands to maintain coordination with the user's actual movements in real-time
2Measurement precision
If sensor-based gait detection is implemented, then control precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single integrated processor performs multiple functions including sensor data acquisition, gait parameter estimation, trajectory prediction, and motor control command generation, consolidating complex operations into one multi-functional unit that reduces overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical control mechanisms with electronic sensor-based detection and software-based gait analysis algorithms, using computational processing to achieve precise gait detection without requiring complex mechanical linkages or manual controls
Data Source
AI summary
A system for control of a mobility device comprising a controller for analyzing data from at least one sensor on the mobility device, wherein the data is used to determine the gait trajectory of a user. The gait data is then used to provide motion command to an electric motor on the mobility device.