Exoskeletal robotic boot helps people with mobility problems walk – Video

Researchers in the US and Belgium have created an exoskeleton “boot” that helps people with mobility difficulties walk faster and more steadily, based on real-world conditions.

This is a new approach to robotic design and an important step in the field of assisted walking devices in a personalized way.

Such exoskeletons that assist the movement of the legs, increasing walking speed and reducing the energy required for this, will help people with mobility disabilities (e.g. due to an accident) or difficulties (e.g. due to a neurological condition), but also those who do physically demanding jobs, thus improving either the quality of life or productivity and safety in workplaces. In the future, such robotic shoes may be widely used for a variety of applications (eg walking on rough terrain).

Until now the benefits of such devices have been demonstrated mainly in laboratory rather than real conditions, as is the case with the new “boot” which has cheap but effective sensors, which constantly adjust the movement of the exoskeleton depending on the external conditions. The “smart” robotic system decides every time when and how to help the leg.

The researchers, led by Patrick Slade of Stanford University in California, made the relevant publication in the journal “Nature”. Experiments have shown that the device allows a 9% increase in walking speed and a 17% reduction in energy required, compared to regular shoes. The energy saved is equivalent to removing 9.2 kg of weight, making walking correspondingly easier.

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