Paper Info
Title
Development of a Robotic Companion to Provide Haptic Force Interaction for Overground Gait Rehabilitation
Abstract
The aim of gait rehabilitation is to achieve independent ambulation. Somatosensory augmentation with external haptic sources can improve the subjects ability to walk or stand. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a robotic system prototype that delivers haptic forces to aid overground gait rehabilitation. This portable system is based on a compact, mobile robot that is equipped with force and LIDAR sensors. The robot is flexibly linked to the user, which allows the force interaction between the user and machine to be halted when desired. During operation, the system can dynamically transition between modes in which force is applied or distance is maintained to emulate the experience of a human walking a dog on a leash. The haptic feedback from our system was evaluated in a pilot study that involved six young, healthy subjects and one individual recovering from a hemiparetic stroke. The study comprised independent and device-assisted walking trials. When using the device, the subjects walked continuously as it transitioned between distance and force modes. Gait speed and step length increased when force was applied and decreased as the force was removed. The improvements exhibited by an individual suffering from stroke were similar to those exhibited by healthy subjects. The application of haptic forces has a high potential for improving the efficiency of overground gait training with simple interactions.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2973672
IEEE ACCESS
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Force,Legged locomotion,Haptic interfaces,Dogs,Training,Robot sensing systems,Haptic interfaces,rehabilitation robotics,mobile robots
Journal
8
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
2169-3536
0
0.34
References 
Authors
0
7
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Hosu Lee111.75
Amre Eizad211.41
Sanghun Pyo332.25
Muhammad Raheel Afzal400.34
Min-Kyun Oh500.34
Yun-Jeong Jang600.34
JungWon Yoon734953.79