Wyss Institute For Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
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Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability, with 80% of survivors having locomotor impairments. Individuals after stroke typically present with hemiparetic gait, characterized as slow, asymmetric, and inefficient. Our lab has been developing soft wearable cyber-physical sytems, called soft exosuits, that interface with paretic limb after stroke through soft and conformal textile-based structures to assist hemiparetic walking. Soft exosuits transmit mechanical power to human body joints via interaction between functional textiles worn on the body and Bowden cable retraction.
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A challenge for assisting young developmentally-delayed children in learning to walk is to (1) stabilize medio-lateral body sway while promoting opportunities for exploratory behavior, and (2) develop gait that exploits exchange of potential and kinetic energy. To meet the challenge, we have built a modular multi-robot CPS: a scaffold that applies forces at the pelvis via cables to modulate and stabilize center of mass behavior, and a wearable robot that applies assistive torques at the hip.
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This project is a modular, computationally-distributed multi-robot cyberphysical system (CPS) for assisting young developmentally-delayed children in learning to walk. Three challenges are stabilizing medio-lateral body sway, developing gait that exploits energy exchange, and coordination of multiple degrees of freedom. Adults assisting children learning to walk provide a "scaffold" of postural supports that enables the child to safely explore the forces acting on its body.
