Terrain adaptive powered joint orthosis

A powered human augmentation device for assisting a person walking on a surface, the device comprising:

• a powered actuator to supply to a joint at least one of an augmentation torque and an impedance comprising a linear spring component and a damping component;
• an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to generate a kinematic signal, the kinematic signal to include indications of positions of the joint during a gait cycle;
• and
• a controller to:
• determine whether a phase of the gait cycle is early- or mid-stance;
• receive the kinematic signal;
• reconstruct a path of the joint within the gait cycle based on the kinematic signal;
• estimate within the gait cycle a slope of a surface based on the reconstructed path;
• determine whether the estimated slope is substantially zero or negative;
• and
• modulate at least one of the augmentation torque and the impedance based on the phase of the gait cycle and the estimated slope of the surface to provide at least a biomimetic response, wherein the modulating comprises sending a control signal to the powered actuator based on a determination that the phase of the gait cycle is one of early stance or mid stance and a determination that the estimated slope of the surface is substantially zero, the control signal to cause the powered actuator to provide the modulated impedance such that contribution of the linear spring component of the modulated impedance is greater than contribution of the damping component of the modulated impedance.

A powered human augmentation device for assisting a person walking on a surface, the device comprising:

• a powered actuator to supply to a joint at least one of an augmentation torque and an impedance comprising a linear spring component and a damping component;
• an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to generate a kinematic signal, the kinematic signal to include indications of positions of the joint during a gait cycle;
• and
• a controller to:
• determine whether a phase of the gait cycle is early- or mid-stance;
• receive the kinematic signal;
• reconstruct a path of the joint within the gait cycle based on the kinematic signal;
• estimate within the gait cycle a slope of a surface based on the reconstructed path;
• determine whether the estimated slope is substantially zero or negative;
• and
• modulate at least one of the augmentation torque and the impedance based on the phase of the gait cycle and the estimated slope of the surface to provide at least a biomimetic response, wherein the modulating comprises sending a control signal to the powered actuator based on a determination that the phase of the gait cycle is one of early stance or mid stance and a determination that the estimated slope of the surface is negative, the control signal to cause the power actuator to provide the modulated impedance such that contribution of the damping component is substantially greater compared to the contribution of the damping component based on a determination that the estimated slope of the surface is substantially zero.