Human-Inspired Balance Control of Bipedal Walkers with Foot Slip

该项目将通过推进能够准确捕捉和预测滑倒事故的数学动态模型，为国家福利、健康和繁荣做出贡献。意外跌倒是人类非致命伤害的主要原因，也是意外死亡的第二大原因。对老年人和专业工作者来说，与跌倒相关的经济和社会成本非常高，而足部打滑是主要原因之一。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。在与凯斯勒康复研究所的合作中，这些知识将有助于开发创新的个性化辅助和康复技术，以预防滑倒引起的跌倒。研究人员还将开发一些综合研究和教育项目，以吸引代表性不足的群体的学生进入工程领域，并让本科生参与研究。滑倒动作由一系列连续快速变化的人体全身动作组成。由于复杂的滑移生物力学、人体神经-肌肉-骨骼交互控制以及缺乏实时传感和辅助技术来可靠地检测足部滑移并帮助设计滑移下的两足平衡控制，因此捕捉和模拟人体运动和对滑移的反应是具有挑战性的。该项目将着重于(1)开发新的动力学模型来理解和捕捉滑移下的两足步行运动；(2)新的人性化平衡恢复设计，防止滑倒；(3)实验验证和试验台开发，实现实时检测滑移，有效防止滑移诱发跌落。该项目开发的新知识和设计工具也将成为进一步推进非定常、不稳定、敏捷双足运动和性能的理解、建模和控制的基石。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.