Project title: WalkSafe – Smart assistive device for elderly using walkers
Team: Shubham Shreshth and Jaswanth Buddha
Project guides: Prof. Amaresh Chakrabarti and Dr. Abhijit Biswas
About the project:
Need:
Gait disorders >>> 80% falls in elderly. An estimated 47,312 older adult fall injuries associated with walking aids were treated annually in U.S. of which 87.3% are with walkers. Fear of falling came out to be a major reason for less physical activity among the elderly after the age of 75 from the interviews and research. Exponential growth in prices of Assistive Mobility devices when added a Feature.
Brief:
Addon/ retrofit device mounted upon 4-legged walker which upon detection based on benchmark values of angular velocity and angle change triggers the actuator which unlocks the spring-loaded legs kept in position. Spring loaded Legs deploys by rotating 90 degrees along the pivot point when released by the actuator preventing the user from falling. Device that deploys legs to provide addition support to regain balance and preventing user from falling has never been reported in the literature before. System to detect fall through Angular velocity and Angle change and using the signal to trigger and deploy support that prevents user from fall has never been reported in the literature before.
Design:
A retrofitting design for standard walkers that detects the fall of the walker in usage and deploys supporting legs to prevent fall.
