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。意外福尔斯是造成非致命性人身伤害的主要原因，也是造成意外死亡的第二大原因。对于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大，而脚滑是主要原因之一。 该项目将开发数学模型和平衡控制策略，这些策略由人类运动技能提供信息。与凯斯勒康复研究所合作，这些知识将有助于开发创新的个性化辅助和康复技术，以预防滑倒引起的福尔斯摔倒。研究人员还将开发一些综合研究和教育项目，以吸引来自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。由于复杂的滑动生物力学、人类交互式神经肌肉骨骼控制以及缺乏用于可靠地检测足部滑动并帮助设计滑动下的双足平衡控制的实时传感和辅助技术，捕获和建模人类运动和对滑动的反应是具有挑战性的。该项目将侧重于（1）开发新的动力学模型，以了解和捕捉滑倒情况下的双足步行运动;（2）新的人类启发的平衡恢复设计，以防止滑倒引起的福尔斯;以及（3）实验验证和测试平台开发，以实时检测滑倒并有效防止滑倒引起的福尔斯。在这个项目中开发的新知识和设计工具也将作为一个基石，以进一步推进理解，建模和控制的不稳定，不稳定，敏捷的双足运动和性能。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

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.