Effects of a Person-Following Light-Touch Device During Overground Walking With Visual Perturbations in a Virtual Reality Environment

Stramel, Danielle M.; Carrera, Robert M.; Rahok, Sam Ann; Stein, Joel; Agrawal, Sunil K.

doi:10.1109/lra.2019.2931267

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The effect of II is called the "light touch effect". This effect has been researched recently [5][6][7]. In an experiment where subjects who had suffered from a stroke walked while holding the cane with their nonparetic hand, it was found that they walked with a vertical downward force of 2.3 N acting on the cane, and the semitendinosus muscle, tensor fascia latae muscle, and vastus medialis muscle of the paretic leg were more active when compared to when they walked with a force of 49.3 N acting on the cane [5].…”

Section: Imentioning

confidence: 92%

“…However, in this use, in which the effect of II is obtained and has been clarified through previous research, such as [5][6][7], a quantitative evaluation index for determining the installation position or usage method of the handrail/cane has not been clarified; the installation position or usage method are examined and determined via sensory evaluation or the personal knowledge/experience of an informed person (doctors, caregivers, and others). Therefore, when considering the super-aged society and lack of caregivers, the authors have attempted to construct evaluation indices objectively for determining the height of a handrail and the position of a cane tip for the usage in which the effect of II is obtained.…”

Section: Imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stramel et al, developed a light-touch cane robot that can follow a human and conducted experiments while using it to walk in a virtual environment with visual perturbations. The result suggested that the stride width was narrower and, thus, the stability of walking in a virtual environment was more improved when compared to walking in real-world walking [7]. However, these are only researches on the physical effect or on the light touch effect, not on the mechanical effects of handrails and canes that contribute to fall prevention, depending on the height of the handrails and the position of the cane tip.…”

Section: Imentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strategy for Application of Support Object for Fall Prevention in the Elderly Based on Balance Recovery Characteristics

Matsuda

Takeda

2020

Machines

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This research proposes a strategy for applying support objects—equipment, tools, and even furniture/environment from which humans can receive reaction force through their hands—for fall prevention in the elderly. This paper presents an assessment example of support objects based on balance recovery characteristics and a discussion regarding their application according to the assessment results. The balance recovery characteristics depend on the direction in which reaction force can be obtained based on the shape of the support object and direction in which the force is easily exerted on the hand. Evaluation indices for assessing the height and shape of nonportable support objects and determining a position of the tip on the ground of a cane, a typical portable support object, in the anterior direction are briefly introduced based on the authors’ previous works. The strategy for the application of support objects utilizing the evaluation indices is proposed; better use of support objects, their locations, new-shaped ones, and support devices with a new design concept are discussed and introduced based on the values of the calculated indices according to the type/usage of the support objects.

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Section: Imentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Imentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strategy for Application of Support Object for Fall Prevention in the Elderly Based on Balance Recovery Characteristics

Matsuda

Takeda

2020

Machines

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“…These estimates assume that the user is completely passive and performs no stabilizing action of their own, yet this might be overly conservative for the majority of realistic applications, except particularly severe impairments for which such an aid might not suffice for more fundamental reasons. In fact, future design of robotic aids might benefit from even further involvement of the human user, such as by explicitly augmenting sensory feedback and thereby the user's own balance function 86 . Further research might reveal that exploiting multiple support mechanisms (not just mechanical support) can improve the efficacy of a robotic aid, and perhaps lower the actuation requirements further.…”

Section: Subjects Interact Better With Predictable Controllersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controller synthesis and clinical exploration of wearable gyroscopic actuators to support human balance

Lemus

Berry

Jabeen

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Gyroscopic actuators are appealing for wearable applications due to their ability to provide overground balance support without obstructing the legs. Multiple wearable robots using this actuation principle have been proposed, but none has yet been evaluated with humans. Here we use the GyBAR, a backpack-like prototype portable robot, to investigate the hypothesis that the balance of both healthy and chronic stroke subjects can be augmented through moments applied to the upper body. We quantified balance performance in terms of each participant's ability to walk or remain standing on a narrow support surface oriented to challenge stability in either the frontal or the sagittal plane. By comparing candidate balance controllers, it was found that effective assistance did not require regulation to a reference posture. A rotational viscous field increased the distance healthy participants could walk along a 30mm-wide beam by a factor of 2.0, compared to when the GyBAR was worn but inactive. The same controller enabled individuals with chronic stroke to remain standing for a factor of 2.5 longer on a narrow block. Due to its wearability and versatility of control, the GyBAR could enable new therapy interventions for training and rehabilitation.

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“…Hand-operated robotic devices have recently been developed to aid walking similar to a powered cane ( Suzuki et al, 2009 ; Di et al, 2016 ; Nakagawa et al, 2016 ; Lam and Fujimoto, 2019 ; Trujillo-León et al, 2020 ) or walker/rollator (see reviews in ( Martins et al, 2012 , 2015 ; Werner et al, 2016 )). Robotic walking aids have been designed to aid balance through a variety of methods such as providing mechanical support during falls ( Hirata et al, 2006 ; Suzuki et al, 2009 ; Mou et al, 2012 ; Geravand et al, 2015 ; Di et al, 2016 ; Lam and Fujimoto, 2019 ), preventing risky postures ( Nakagawa et al, 2016 ), or providing a proprioceptive cue ( Stramel et al, 2019 ), but it is unclear which strategies are most intuitive and beneficial to the user. Meanwhile, a person can quickly and intuitively aid another person’s balance during walking by holding their hand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-Human Hand Interactions Aid Balance During Walking by Haptic Communication

Drnach

Bong

et al. 2021

Front. Robot. AI

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Principles from human-human physical interaction may be necessary to design more intuitive and seamless robotic devices to aid human movement. Previous studies have shown that light touch can aid balance and that haptic communication can improve performance of physical tasks, but the effects of touch between two humans on walking balance has not been previously characterized. This study examines physical interaction between two persons when one person aids another in performing a beam-walking task. 12 pairs of healthy young adults held a force sensor with one hand while one person walked on a narrow balance beam (2 cm wide x 3.7 m long) and the other person walked overground by their side. We compare balance performance during partnered vs. solo beam-walking to examine the effects of haptic interaction, and we compare hand interaction mechanics during partnered beam-walking vs. overground walking to examine how the interaction aided balance. While holding the hand of a partner, participants were able to walk further on the beam without falling, reduce lateral sway, and decrease angular momentum in the frontal plane. We measured small hand force magnitudes (mean of 2.2 N laterally and 3.4 N vertically) that created opposing torque components about the beam axis and calculated the interaction torque, the overlapping opposing torque that does not contribute to motion of the beam-walker’s body. We found higher interaction torque magnitudes during partnered beam-walking vs. partnered overground walking, and correlation between interaction torque magnitude and reductions in lateral sway. To gain insight into feasible controller designs to emulate human-human physical interactions for aiding walking balance, we modeled the relationship between each torque component and motion of the beam-walker’s body as a mass-spring-damper system. Our model results show opposite types of mechanical elements (active vs. passive) for the two torque components. Our results demonstrate that hand interactions aid balance during partnered beam-walking by creating opposing torques that primarily serve haptic communication, and our model of the torques suggest control parameters for implementing human-human balance aid in human-robot interactions.

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Effects of a Person-Following Light-Touch Device During Overground Walking With Visual Perturbations in a Virtual Reality Environment

Cited by 14 publications

References 38 publications

Strategy for Application of Support Object for Fall Prevention in the Elderly Based on Balance Recovery Characteristics

Strategy for Application of Support Object for Fall Prevention in the Elderly Based on Balance Recovery Characteristics

Controller synthesis and clinical exploration of wearable gyroscopic actuators to support human balance

Human-Human Hand Interactions Aid Balance During Walking by Haptic Communication

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