HW-01

(Oral presentation, session Health and Wellbeing, 13.50 - 14.10 hrs)

The European H2020 XoSoft project focuses on the development of a soft biomimetic exoskeleton to assist people with mobility impairments. The research group Ambient Intelligence contributes by developing user interfaces for different types of users. A prevalent problem in all XoSoft primary user groups is an impaired sense of balance. The exoskeleton itself will not be able to exert enough force to keep the primary user in balance, but with early external feedback, the user may still be able to correct the situation. To provide balance feedback a balance prosthesis has been developed in the form of a belt that provides intuitive, helpful feedback on mediolateral (left-right) upper body tilt during walking. The main research question is: how can we improve balance and gait with this balance belt? To realize the balance belt we had to determine sensors and actuators, a suitable balance measure, and a suitable mapping of the balance measure to intuitive feedback. We use an XSens IMU on the lower back to determine upper body tilt and provide vibrotactile feedback with the Elitac tactor (vibration motor) belt. Feedback is provided for two situations. The first situation is when the user reaches a sufficient amount of tilt in a certain direction during walking, resulting in an alternating left-right feedback pattern. The purpose of this is to improve the user's gait by stimulating a more natural tilt and a more stable gait pattern. The second situation is when the upper tilt threshold is reached. The system then provides a more intense warning vibration, so the user can immediately try to stabilize herself. The evaluation of the effect and usability of this balance prosthesis will be conducted in September/October. In parallel, we are integrating and evaluating the tablet user interfaces for the primary user and physical therapists.