Motion control of omni-directional type walking support system "Walking helper"

In this paper, we develop a prototype of an intelligent walking support system referred to as Walking Helper and propose a motion control algorithm for it. Walking Helper consists of an omni-directional mobile base, a Body Force Sensor, a support frame and a cover around the mobile base. By using the omnidirectional mobile base and Body Force Sensor, the good maneuverability and the high safety of Walking Helper are realized. In addition, we propose a motion control algorithm referred to as Adaptive Caster Action to utilize Walking Helper effectively in an environment such as a home, an office, a hospital, etc. The proposed control algorithm is experimentally applied to the developed Walking Helper, and the validity of the proposed control algorithm is illustrated by the experimental results.