Environmental Imaging and Control for Exoskeletons to Improve Safety and Mobility

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Innovative Design Labs (IDL) proposes to create a system to improve the mobility and control of exoskeletons. Recent research has found that 3.86 million Americans require wheelchairs and the number has been increasing annually by an average annual rate of 5.9% per year. While wheelchairs provide freedom, allowing users to be independent as well as reducing dependence upon others, wheelchair use is not physically or emotionally equivalent to walking and is often thought to limit community participation and thus exacerbate social isolation. Robotic exoskeletons/bionic suits have the potential to enable these individuals to stand up and walk, thus providing a way to more fully reintegrate these individuals into society. Our proposal seeks to address one of the hurdles limiting the widespread adoption of exoskeletons in the home and community—the inability of the user to dynamically control gait parameters. This concept has the potential to significantly change the way exoskeletons work and facilitate their adoption into the market. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the proposed solution will provide users a practical way to adjust their suit’s gait to precisely achieve their navigational goals. Specific Aims: Phase I: 1) Build a prototype and Perform Preliminary Laboratory Testing; 2) Develop and Benchmark Algorithms; and 3) Perform Pilot Human Study of Prototype with Exoskeleton Subjects. Phase II: 1) Develop Customized, Production-Ready Hardware and Firmware 2) Integrate with Exoskeleton Control System; and 3) Perform an evaluation of the system through human study testing.