ReRobo Walker: Robotic Walker with Fall Detection and Active Safety

Abstract

In recent years, Chinese society has become increasingly ageing while the fertility rate continues to decline. This situation has led to a growing public demand for rehabilitation devices such as walking aids. A novel intelligent robotic walker named ReRobo Walker is proposed which can assist groups of elderly people with dysfunctional legs with rehabilitation training and indoor and outdoor walking. We design robust mechanical structures for robotic walker, install special 3D force sensor, 2D LIDAR and other sensors, and design new algorithms to enable intelligent functionality while guaranteeing the safety of robotic walker.(1) Real-time monitoring of the user’s physical status, such as falls, through laser range sensors and 3D force sensor; (2) Modelling of the scene through 2D LIDAR for path planning, obstacle avoidance and navigation functions; (3) Precise control through LADRC-based algorithm for uphill assistance, downhill control and prevention of sharp shifts of the robotic walker. Experiment results demonstrate the solid mechanical structure, stable reliability and the effectiveness of intelligent control algorithms of the intelligent robotic walker.