2017 14th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (URAI)

June 28 - July 1, 2017 at Maison Glad Jeju, Jeju, Korea

Gait pattern analysis using an end-effector type rehabilitation robot and

a wearable inertial measurement unit
Suncheol Kwon1 and Won-Kyung Song2
1
Department of Rehabilitative and Assistive Technology, National Rehabilitation Center, Seoul, 01022, Korea
(Tel: +82-2-901-1906; E-mail: suncheolkwon@korea.kr)
2
Department of Rehabilitative and Assistive Technology, National Rehabilitation Center, Seoul, 01022, Korea
(Tel: +82-2-901-1901; E-mail: wksong@nrc.go.kr)

Abstract Use of end-effector type robots might be more
effective to gait rehabilitation than use of exoskeleton type
robots, but there has been little work-in-progress to
investigate gait pattern when using end-effector type
robots. In this study, wearable inertial measurement units
(IMU) signals of body segment during walking with the
end-effector type robot were compared with during the
walking on the treadmill. Different characteristics during
the walking with the two configurations were observed;
small range of angular velocity and no impact acceleration
on the heel-strike during walking with the robot were
shown. Since the foot of the subject was fixed on the
footplate (i.e., end-effector) of the robot and footplate
trajectory of the robot indirectly generates joint motions of
lower limbs, the trajectory should be carefully designed.
Therefore, the results are applicable to identify the
desirable and effective trajectory of an end-effector type
gait rehabilitation robot.
inexpensive manner of gait pattern analysis, rather than the
use of optical motion capture systems.
2. Materials and Methods
A man who can independently walk participated the
experiment: walking on a treadmill and an end-effector
type gait rehabilitation robot (Fig. 1) with 2km/h speed
option. We measured linear acceleration and angular rate
signals from IMUs (Shimmer3 Bridge Amplifier+ Unit,
Shimmer, Ireland) which mounted on shank segment
during walking. Linear acceleration and angular velocity
signals of the shank in the sagittal plane were mainly used
to compare the gait patterns.

Keywords Gait pattern, end-effector type rehabilitation

devices

1. Introduction
Gait rehabilitation robots can provide repetitive gait
trajectory and help reduce the labor-intensive efforts of
rehabilitation provided by physical therapists. Gait
rehabilitation robots could be generally divided into two
type: an exoskeleton type and an end-effector type [1, 2].
The end-effector type robot has footplates which are
mounted on the end-effectors of a robot [3], and provide
foot trajectory in walking which indirectly generates joint
motions of lower limbs. Recent studies claim higher rates
of independent walking on end-effector type robots-based
rehabilitation compared with exoskeleton robots-based
rehabilitation [4]. End-effector type robots have been
relatively recently commercialized, despite potentials of
the devices, so there has been little work-in-progress of
gait pattern when using the robots.
The purpose of this study was to analyze patterns of a
body segment during walking on end-effector type robots
for finding desirable end-effector trajectory. We used
wearable inertial measurement units (IMU) which
mounted on lower limbs to measure gait patterns, instead
of optical motion capture systems. Researches focused on
gait patterns [5-7] showed correlation and reliability of the
use of IMUs. The use of an IMU is a convenient and
Fig. 1. End-effector type gait rehabilitation robot which
used in the experiment (MorningWalk, Hyundai
Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Republic of Korea)
3. Results
As shown in Fig. 2, the angular velocity range of the
walking with the robot was smaller than that of the
walking on the treadmill. Since the foot of the subject was
fixed on the footplate of the robot, sharp curve of
acceleration at the time of heel-strike which observed in
treadmill walking was not observed in the walking with
the robot. The impact signals on the heel-strike timing are
unlikely to be observed unless the heel is contacted to
overground. In addition, it seems that the torque ripple of
the servo motors of the robot was reflected to the signals of
the IMU; the signals in the walking with the robot were
relatively noisy.

978-1-5090-3056-9/17/$31.00 2017 IEEE 576

 [3] P. Sale, M. Franceschini, A. Waldner, and S. Hesse,
Use of the robot assisted gait therapy in rehabilitation
of patients with stroke and spinal cord injury,
European journal of physical and rehabilitation
medicine , Vol.48, No.1, pp.111 121, 2012.
[4] J. Mehrholz and M. Pohl, Electromechanical-assisted
gait training after stroke: a systematic review
comparing end-effector and exoskeleton devices.
Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, Vol.44, No.3,
pp.193199, 2012.
[5] S. R. Hundza, W. R. Hook, et al., Accurate and
Reliable Gait Cycle Detection in Parkinson's Disease,
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and
Rehabilitation Engineering, Vol.22, No.1, pp.127137,
2014.
[6] S. Sessa,1 M. Zecca, et al., Reliability of the step
phase detection using inertial measurement units: pilot
study, Healthcare Technology Letters, Vol.2, No.2,
pp.58-63, 2015.
[7] A. M. Sabatini, C. Martelloni, S. Scapellato, and F.
Fig. 2. Measured angular velocity and linear Cavallo, Assessment of Walking Features From Foot
acceleration data from (A) end-effector type Inertial Sensing, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical
gait rehabilitation robot (B) treadmill Engineering, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 486494, 2005.

4. Conclusion
In this study, linear acceleration and angular velocity
signals of the shank in the sagittal plane during walking
with the end-effector type robot were compared with
during the walking on the treadmill. This work was at an
early stage to investigate kinematic characteristics during
walking with the end-effector type robot. We confirmed
the different characteristics of the signals during the
walking with the two configurations. To identify the
desirable and effective trajectory of an end-effector type
gait rehabilitation robot, we will continue to analyze the
gait patterns of those who can independently walk during
the use of the robot in addition to the patterns of stroke
patients.

Acknowledgement
This work was supported by Translational Research
Program for Rehabilitation Robots [NRCTR-IN17006]
and the R&D Program of MOTIE/KEIT [10045164,
Development of an overground gait rehabilitation robot
technology with a success rate over 90 % in gait intention
detection based on biosignal interface for various gait
rehabilitation of stroke patients]

References
[1] I. Daz, J. J. Gil, and E. Snchez, Lower-limb robotic
rehabilitation: literature review and challenges,
Journal of Robotics, Vol.2011, Article ID 759764,
pp.1-11, 2011.
[2] B.-W. Ko, W.-K. Song, "Kinematic Comparison of
Gait Rehabilitation with Exoskeleton and
End-Effector Devices," Wearable Robotics:
Challenges and Trends, Springer International
Publishing, pp.213-217, 2017.

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