Foot Arch Stiffness-Based Dynamic Plantar Support Control of Human Walking Gait with Active Pneumatic Insoles
Chenhao Liu, Jingang Yi, Long He, Yijun Zhang, Xiufeng Zhang, Tao Liu
Abstract
The human foot arch plays a significant role in bearing weight, keeping balance, and walking efficiently. In this study, we present a pneumatic arch support insole (PASI) and a foot arch stiffness-based dynamic plantar support control to reduce the metabolic cost of walking. We first obtain the foot arch quasi-stiffness estimation over the gait phase by conducting multiple subject experiments. The design and modeling of the PASI and foot-insole interactions are then discussed. A model predictive control scheme is presented to dynamically regulate the foot arch stiffness over the gait phase by using the active PASI. We validate the system experimentally and conduct multi-subject walking tests. The results show that dynamic plantar support control of the foot arch stiffness reduces the metabolic cost by 7.99% compared to regular walking. In contrast, passive support without dynamic regulation increases the metabolic cost by 6.60%. The new pneumatic insoles and dynamic support method demonstrate promising potential for everyday and medical applications.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2024_footarchstiffnes,
title = {Foot Arch Stiffness-Based Dynamic Plantar Support Control of Human Walking Gait with Active Pneumatic Insoles},
author = {Chenhao Liu and Jingang Yi and Long He and Yijun Zhang and Xiufeng Zhang and Tao Liu},
booktitle = {IROS 2024},
year = {2024}
}