ERI: Human-Inspired Robotic Assistance to Prevent Slip-Induced Falls

这一工程研究启动(ERI)项目将在预防人类跌倒这一重大全球健康问题领域贡献新的知识，并通过促进科学进步和促进国民健康和福利服务于国家利益。该项目将改变现有的防滑和跌倒方法，因为它偏离了现有的被动方法，包括监测环境因素和训练人类神经肌肉滑倒反应。该奖项支持基础研究，为积极预防跌倒方法的发展提供必要的知识。具体地说，这项研究将证明，可以通过使用可穿戴设备来预防滑倒导致的跌倒，该设备可以在平衡恢复过程中提供外部机械辅助，并导致新的受试者平衡恢复策略，而如果没有这种设备，这是不可能的。制定积极的跌倒预防策略可以改变跌倒预防方法的模式，从而显著减少跌倒和与跌倒有关的伤害。这项研究的结果有可能通过改善易摔倒人群的生活质量来影响医疗保健部门，并减少因跌倒而产生的相关经济和社会成本。本项目重点是步态扰动期间运动稳定性策略的基础研究，以及人类对机器人设备外部辅助的共同适应以防止跌倒。与被动防滑方法和现有的经验性控制器不同，这项研究将利用髋关节和膝关节外骨骼开发一套完整的主动防滑控制框架。该项目的主要目标是：(1)通过人体-外骨骼在步态扰动过程中的合作，建立对主动摔倒预防策略的基本理解；(2)创建一种新的双向控制框架，使人与设备之间能够共生和转移学习，从而在滑行恢复过程中产生紧急行为。控制框架将把理论上的两足动物稳定性和人类启发的节段间协调与人类的运动控制和神经肌肉反应结合起来。这个项目将促进我们对防止滑倒导致跌倒的基本理解，并建立工具来设计安全有效的辅助跌倒预防策略的控制器。这项研究可以影响机器人和康复工程中其他辅助设备、外骨骼、假肢和机器人两足步行机器人的合作、双向控制器设计。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 Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) project will contribute new knowledge in the field of prevention of human falls, which is a significant global health problem, and serve the national interest by promoting the progress of science and advancing national health and welfare. The project will transform existing slip and fall prevention approaches as it deviates from existing passive approaches, which include monitoring the environmental factors and training human neuromuscular slip response. This award supports fundamental research to provide needed knowledge for development of active fall prevention methodologies. Specifically, this research will demonstrate that slip-induced falls can be prevented by using a wearable device that provides external mechanical assistance to assist subjects during balance recovery and lead to new resulting balance recovery strategies of subjects that would not be possible without the device. Development of active fall prevention strategies can shift the paradigm of fall prevention approaches that can result in a significant reduction of falls and fall related injuries. The results of this research have the potential to impact the healthcare sector by improving the quality of life of the fall-prone population and reduce the associated economic and societal costs due to falls.This project focuses on the fundamental study of locomotor stability strategies during gait perturbations and human co-adaptation to the external assistance from robotic devices to prevent falls. Deviating from passive slip-and-fall prevention approaches and existing empirically derived controllers, this research will enable development of a complete control framework for active slip prevention using hip and knee exoskeleton. The main objectives of this project are: (1) to establish a fundamental understanding of the active fall prevention strategies through human-exoskeleton cooperation during gait perturbations, and (2) to create a novel bidirectional control framework enabling symbiosis and transfer learning between human and device leading to emergent behavior during slip recoveries. The control framework will integrate theoretical bipedal stability and human-inspired intersegmental coordination with the human motor control and neuromuscular responses. This project will advance our fundamental understanding on preventing slip-induced falls and establish tools to design controllers for safe and efficient assistive fall preventive strategies. This research can impact cooperative, bidirectional controller designs of other assistive device, exoskeletons, prosthesis, and robotic bipedal walkers in robotics and rehabilitation engineering.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.