Recognition of User’s Gait Intenstion for a Walking Assist System Using Pressure-Sensing Handlebars

摘要

The purpose of this study is to develop a handlebar-type interface that detects gait intention in eight directions using eight pressure sensors and to understand walking intention of users based on two scenarios. A walking-assist robot that allows the user to walk using the proposed interface is used. In order to express the dispersive external force as the direction of the quantified force, the proposed interface consists of a fixed part of a handlebar, the joint that allows a handle to move with one degree of freedom, and eight Force Sensing Resistor (FSR) sensors that enable the motion of the joint to be expressed in eight directions of force. The distribution data generated based on user's gait intention in eight directions is calculated using Center of Pressure (COP), and the user's will is determined according to the distribution chart of the pressure center points. The data derived from the judgment of walking intention algorithm were divided into two states where the walking was stopped or underway, and the experiment was conducted three times based on the quantified stride and walking speed in the experimental space. Therefore, the comparison indexes of results per each experimental scenario were derived.