A Study on the Stability Improvement Technique of Electric Walkers to Prevent Falls of the Elderly

Abstract

Although the elderly with lower extremity muscle strength has been supported by electric walkers for their smooth walking activities, the electric walkers do not guarantee the stability of outdoor activities due to lack of walking stability and convenience. Also, inexperiences in operating an electric walker during actual walking may cause falls because of existing a separation distance between a user and an electric walker. In this study the center of gravity of a user and the safety area are determined using the separation distance between a user and an electric walker and an algorithm that minimizes falls through a walking synchronization between a user and an electric walker is proposed. In experiment results, the safety area is configured by 40~80cm based on its normal distribution for subjects with different physical conditions. It is possible to reduce the standard error, 37%, according to use of a synchronization controller in walking movements and to ensure the stability of subjects through reducing the speed of 0.45m/s maximum.