Human-Inspired Balance Control of Bipedal Walkers with Foot Slip

该项目将通过提出能够准确捕捉和预测滑倒事故的数学动态模型，为国家的福利、健康和繁荣做出贡献。意外坠落是造成非致命性人身伤害的首要原因，也是导致意外死亡的第二大原因。与跌倒相关的经济和社会成本对老年人和专业工人来说是非常巨大的，脚滑是主要原因之一。该项目将根据人类运动技能开发数学模型和平衡控制策略。与凯斯勒康复研究所合作，这些知识将使创新的个性化辅助和康复技术的开发成为可能，以防止因滑倒而导致的跌倒。研究人员还将开发一系列综合研究和教育项目，以吸引来自代表性不足群体的学生进入工程学，并让本科生参与研究。滑落包括一系列持续快速变化的全身人体运动。由于复杂的滑动生物力学、人类交互的神经肌肉骨骼控制以及缺乏可靠地检测脚部滑动和帮助设计滑动下的两足动物平衡控制的实时传感和辅助技术，捕捉和建模人类对滑动的运动和反应是具有挑战性的。该项目将着重(1)开发新的动力学模型，以了解和捕捉滑行时的两足行走运动；(2)新的受人启发的平衡恢复设计，以防止滑倒；(3)实验验证和试验台开发，以实时检测滑倒并有效防止滑倒。在该项目中开发的新知识和设计工具也将作为进一步促进对不稳定、不稳定、灵活的两足动物运动和性能的理解、建模和控制的基石。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national welfare, health and prosperity by advancing mathematical dynamic models that can accurately capture and predict slip-and-fall accidents. Unintentional falls are the leading cause of nonfatal human injuries and the second leading cause of accidental deaths. The fall-related economic and societal costs for elders and professional workers are very substantial, and foot slippage is one of the major causes. This project will develop mathematical models and balance control strategies informed by human motor skills. In collaboration with Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, this knowledge will enable development of innovative personalized assistive and rehabilitation technology for prevention of slip-induced falls. The researchers will also develop a number of integrated research and education programs to attract students from underrepresented groups into engineering and involve undergraduate students into research.Slip-and-fall consists of a series of continuously rapidly changing, whole-body human movements. It is challenging to capture and model human motion and reaction to slip due to complex slip biomechanics, human interactive neuro-musculoskeletal control and lack of real-time sensing and assistive technologies for reliably detecting the foot slip and helping design bipedal balance control under slip. The project will emphasize (1) the development of new dynamics models to understand and capture the bipedal walking locomotion under slip; (2) a new human-inspired balance recovery design to prevent slip-induced falls; and (3) experimental validation and testbed development to real-time detect slip and effectively prevent slip-induced falls. The new knowledge and design tools developed in this project will also serve as a cornerstone to further advance understanding, modeling and control of unsteady, unstable, agile bipedal locomotion and performance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.