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

该工程研究启动（ERI）项目将在预防人类福尔斯领域贡献新知识，这是一个重要的全球健康问题，并通过促进科学进步和促进国民健康和福利来服务于国家利益。该项目将改变现有的滑倒和跌倒预防方法，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所需的知识。具体而言，本研究将证明，通过使用可穿戴设备可以防止滑倒诱导的福尔斯，该设备提供外部机械辅助，以在平衡恢复期间帮助受试者，并导致受试者的新的平衡恢复策略，如果没有该设备，则不可能实现。积极的跌倒预防策略的发展可以改变跌倒预防方法的范式，从而显著减少福尔斯和跌倒相关损伤。本研究的结果有可能通过改善易跌倒人群的生活质量和降低因福尔斯而产生的相关经济和社会成本来影响医疗保健部门。本项目重点研究步态扰动期间的运动稳定性策略以及人类对机器人设备外部辅助的共同适应以防止福尔斯。偏离被动防滑和跌倒的预防方法和现有的经验得出的控制器，这项研究将使开发一个完整的控制框架，主动防滑使用髋关节和膝关节外骨骼。该项目的主要目标是：（1）通过步态扰动期间的人-外骨骼合作建立对主动跌倒预防策略的基本理解，以及（2）创建一种新型的双向控制框架，使人和设备之间的共生和转移学习能够在滑动恢复期间产生紧急行为。控制框架将整合理论的双足稳定性和人类启发的节间协调与人类运动控制和神经肌肉反应。这个项目将促进我们对预防滑倒引起的福尔斯的基本理解，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、假肢和机器人双足步行器的合作、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 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.