No slip ups: exoskeleton predicts and prevents falls

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The first smart exoskeleton that recognises the loss of balance and prevents falling has been developed by researchers in Europe.

 

Scientists at Scuola Sant’Anna in Italy and EPFL (Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) in Switzerland have built a prototype of a smart, lightweight and easily reconfigurable exoskeleton that counteracts the loss of balance and promotes balance recovery.

According to EPFL, the breakthrough represents a first in wearable machines, which are normally used to assist or enhance regular movement, instead of preventing falls. The results are published in Scientific Reports. The exoskeleton, which is wearable from the waist down, could also be used as an aid for the physically impaired, amputees and those suffering from neurological disorders.

“Our smart exoskeleton is lightweight and extremely easy to personalise,” said Silvestro Micera, a professor at EPFL and Scuola Sant’Anna who holds the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Translational Neuroengineering. For this first prototype, the exoskeleton requires only a few minutes to adapt to a given patient, which involves adjusting the size for a particular user and learning the user's gait.

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