When walking, people are known to find it next to impossible to maintain a particular speed or even a single inclined. The different structures of the road like steep slopes, potholes, etc. are known to have a direct impact on the time and speed when walking. The walking style of people is also affected by age, height, sex, and muscle strength. There are certain conditions like Parkinson’s Disease, stroke, and other neural or muscular disorders that also have an impact on the walking style of an individual. The latest study on human and task variability is likely to help create wearable robotics to augment walking in reality. Customizing wearable robotics as per an individual requires a lot of time and hard work. It often turns out to be impossible in certain old individuals.
According to Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) researchers, the latest development is a new way in which robotic exosuit assistance is optimized as per an individual and is also programmed to adjust to the different walking styles within a few seconds. The ultrasound related to muscle dynamics is used in the bioinspired system to develop a customized and activity-specific assistance profile-based exosuit for the users.
The researchers believe that the use of a muscle dynamics-based approach will help generate personalized assistance profiles to help users walk properly. Furthermore, the latest study published in Science Robotics explains the advancements being made in the field of robotic exosuits depending on the different movements of the user’s limbs. The idea of restoring human performance through the development of soft wearable robotics is an unexpected breakthrough for the next generation. The new system not only helps walk but also has a portable ultrasound system attached to the calf to image the muscle movements for further studying the calf muscles movement at the time of walking. Even the metabolic energy spent during walking could be measured.
