Smartphone IMU Sensors for Human Identification through Hip Joint Angle Analysis.

Gait monitoring using hip joint angles offers a promising approach for person identification, leveraging the capabilities of smartphone inertial measurement units (IMUs). This study investigates the use of smartphone IMUs to extract hip joint angles for distinguishing individuals based on their gait patterns. The data were collected from 10 healthy subjects (8 males, 2 females) walking on a treadmill at 4 km/h for 10 min.

Exoskeletons vs. exosuits: A comparative analysis using biological-based computer simulation.

Background: Interest in the design of gait assistance devices has experienced significant growth in recent years. Among various uses of assistive devices, those aimed at supporting the elderly have gained importance due to the rising population of this age group.

Methods: This study aims to compare the efficacy of two types of assistive devices through musculoskeletal simulations.

Sensing and Control Strategies for a Synergy-Based, Cable-Driven Exosuit via a Modular Test Bench.

Ageing results in the eventual loss of muscle mass and strength, joint problems, and overall slowing of movements, with a greater risk of suffering falls or other such accidents. The use of gait assistance exoskeletons can help in the active aging of this segment of the population. Given the user specificity of the mechanics and control these devices need, the facility used to test different design parameters is indispensable.

Actuation Strategies for a Wearable Cable-Driven Exosuit Based on Synergies in Younger and Older Adults.

Older adults (aged 55 years and above) have greater difficulty carrying out activities of daily living than younger adults (aged 25−55 years). Although age-related changes in human gait kinetics are well documented in qualitative terms in the scientific literature, these differences may be quantified and analyzed using the analysis of motor control strategies through kinetic synergies. The gaits of two groups of people (older and younger adults), each with ten members, were analyzed on a treadmill at a constant controlled speed and their gait kinetics were recorded.

Force and Torque Characterization in the Actuation of a Walking-Assistance, Cable-Driven Exosuit.

Soft exosuits stand out when it comes to the development of walking-assistance devices thanks to both their higher degree of wearability, lower weight, and price compared to the bulkier equivalent rigid exoskeletons. In cable-driven exosuits, the acting force is driven by cables from the actuation system to the anchor points; thus, the user's movement is not restricted by a rigid structure. In this paper, a 3D inverse dynamics model is proposed and integrated with a model for a cable-driven actuation to predict the required motor torque and traction force in cables for a walking-assistance exosuit during gait.

Design of the Cooperative Actuation in Hybrid Orthoses: A Theoretical Approach Based on Muscle Models.

Hybrid orthoses or rehabilitation exoskeletons have proven to be a powerful tool for subjects with gait disabilities due to their combined use of electromechanical actuation to provide motion and support, and functional electrical stimulation (FES) to contract muscle tissue so as to improve the rehabilitation process. In these devices, each degree of freedom is governed by two actuators. The main issue arises in the design of the two actuation profiles for there to be natural or normative gait motion in which the two actuators are transparent to each other.