A robotic exoskeleton that resembles a boot was developed by Stanford University engineers to improve walking efficiency outside of the lab. The study of the group was published in Nature.
Users of the exoskeleton receive individualized walking support, which enables them to move 9% more quickly and consume 17% less energy every step. According to the team, the exoskeleton’s energy savings and speed gain are similar to removing a 30-pound backpack.
The Stanford team believes that its technology will be ready for commercialization in the next few years. The goal is to allow people with mobility problems, especially elderly people, to move around the world more effortlessly.
The robotic boot provides wearers with an extra push with each step thanks to a motor that interacts with calf muscles. A machine learning-based model that has been trained through years of use with expensive, stationary, large-scale lab settings that can quickly evaluate how to best assist people is used to personalize the push.
Exoskeleton emulators were attached to volunteers and students as researchers gathered motion and energy usage information. The research team used this information to better understand the relationship between an exoskeleton user’s gait and their energy expenditure. The researchers used the information to make a machine-learning model that the real exoskeleton now uses to adjust to each wearer as they learned more about the relative benefits of the different kinds of help the emulation offers.
Every time the user walks, the exoskeleton will offer a slightly different pattern of assistance in order to adjust to their particular gait. The machine learning model can then decide how to better support the user the next time they walk after the exoskeleton measures the ensuing motion. It takes the exoskeleton an hour to fully adjust to the needs of a new user.
The Stanford researchers intend to examine what the exoskeleton can achieve for its target market, which includes older people and people with disabilities who are seeing a loss in mobility. The team also plans to work with business partners to turn the device into a product and to make changes to the design that will improve balance and reduce joint pain.
