An Ankle-foot Emulation System for the Study of Human Walking Biomechanics

– Although below-knee prostheses have been commercially available for some time, today’s devices are completely passive, and consequently, their mechanical properties remain fixed with walking speed and terrain. A lack of understanding of the ankle-foot biomechanics and the dynamic interaction between an amputee and a prosthesis is one of the main obstacles in the development of a biomimetic ankle-foot prosthesis. In this paper, we present a novel ankle-foot emulator system for the study of human walking biomechanics. The emulator system is comprised of a high performance, force-controllable, robotic anklefoot worn by an amputee interfaced to a mobile computing unit secured around his waist. We show that the system is capable of mimicking normal ankle-foot walking behaviour. An initial pilot study supports the hypothesis that the emulator may provide a more natural gait than a conventional passive prosthesis.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: ICRA
• Authors: Samuel K. Au, Peter Dilworth, Hugh M. Herr
• Keywords: Biomimetic Ankle-foot Prosthesis, Conventional Passive Prosthesis, Human Walking Biomechanics, ICRA 2006, Robotics