Two-Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Walker

As part of the aging process, a person experiences functional and cognitive impairments that can lead to dependence on mobility aids and personal care assistants in order to accomplish basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs). Caring for older adults is approaching a critical point in the United States with nearly 45 million people over the age of 65 and is predicted to grow by an additional 10,000 every day for the next 16 years. In this rapidly growing population, traditional methods of care will not be sufficient. As of 2010, the cost of the three key federal entitlement programs for older Americans was roughly 9.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and this expenditure is projected to increase dramatically to 28 percent of the US GDP by 2050 . With the rising costs and shortage of trained professionals, we are developing intelligent robots to help meet the challenge of caring for older adults. An intelligent robotic walker concept is being developed that addresses the mobility challenges associated with the older adults.

Media

Publications

A.R. da Silva and F.C. Sup IV, “Design and Control of a Two-Wheeled Robotic Walker for Balance Enhancement,” J. of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, vol. 86, pp. 17-34, 2017.

A.R. da Silva and F. Sup, “Design and Control of a Two-Wheeled Robotic Walker for Balance Enhancement,” IEEE Int. Conf. on Rehabilitation Robotics, p. 1-6, 2013.