Abstract
(1) Robotic walkers have gradually been developed over the last decade, and their use has caused changes in gait. However, detailed gait analyses during robotic walker-assisted walking have not been performed. In this study, we aim to identify the changes in determinism of gait dynamics owing to the intervention of a robotic walker. (2) Eleven healthy subjects participated in walking experiments under normal walking, rollator-assisted walking, and robotic walker-assisted walking conditions. We analyzed the measured trunk acceleration to derive the gait parameters, local scaling exponent (LSE, from correlation sum), and percentage of determinism (%DET, from recurrence plot). (3) The walking speed during rollator-assisted walking was significantly lower than that during robotic walker-assisted walking. Changes in the shape of the LSE along the anterior–posterior direction revealed the influence of the robotic walker at an individual level. The changes in %DET along the anterior–posterior direction were also significantly different between normal walking and robotic walker-assisted walking. (4) The rollator decreased the walking speed in comparison to normal walking. The changed LSE and reduced %DET imply reduced deterministic patterns and disturbance to the gait dynamics. The robotic walker only affects the gait dynamics in the anterior–posterior direction. Furthermore, the burden on the subjects was reduced during robotic walker-assisted walking.
Highlights
Mobility aids reduce the fall risk, increase the autonomy, and improve the quality of life of persons with walking difficulties
We investigated the influence of a robotic walker on the determinism of the gait dynamics
Changes in the shape of the local scaling exponent (LSE) along the AP direction revealed the influence of the robotic walker at an individual level
Summary
Mobility aids reduce the fall risk, increase the autonomy, and improve the quality of life of persons with walking difficulties. Known as rollators, are widely used to assist in mobility. Robotic walkers have gradually been developed and have attracted the interest of many researchers [1,2,3]. Different from the traditional rollator, the sensors embedded in robotic walkers collect information on the gait, and the in-wheel motors provide assistance during walking. When the user pushes the handle of the robotic walker to operate it, the user’s intention becomes significant [4,5]. The weighted-frequency Fourier linear combiner-Fourier linear combiner algorithm was proposed to extract the voluntary user’s command in the walker-assisted gait [6]. A robotic walker was proposed for the adjustment of the motion direction and velocity of the user based on signals from infrared sensors [7]
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