WO2021100883A1

WO2021100883A1 - Tguser-adaptive wearable suit

Info

Publication number: WO2021100883A1
Application number: PCT/KR2019/015724
Authority: WO
Inventors: 서갑호; 한종부; 이종일; 양견모; 신훈섭; 이석재; 손동섭
Original assignee: 한국로봇융합연구원
Priority date: 2019-11-18
Filing date: 2019-11-18
Publication date: 2021-05-27

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wearable suit control method and a module-controllable wearable suit using same, the method comprising: indexing movements of a user in previously trained action data in order to classify same by the stages of walking, starting to fall, and falling; and in order that the wearable suit can assist in walking, prevent a fall, or reduce an impact in accordance with each stage, controlling the pressure at which a fluid is injected into a corresponding module.

Description

User-adaptive wearable suit

The present invention relates to a wearable suit, and more particularly, to a user-adaptive wearable suit that personalizes the wearable suit by adapting to the movement of the user worn by the wearable suit supporting the movement of the user.

As the aging society intensifies in recent years, the number of people complaining of pain and discomfort due to joint problems is increasing, and interest in walking assistance devices that enable the elderly or patients with joint discomfort to walk smoothly is increasing. In addition, walking aids are being developed for strengthening the muscle strength of the human body for purposes such as military use.

For example, the walking assist device includes a body frame mounted on the user's torso, a pelvic frame coupled to the lower side of the body frame to surround the user's pelvis, a femoral frame mounted on the user's thigh and calf, and the foot, and a calf frame. , Consisting of a foot frame. The pelvic frame and the femur frame are rotatably connected by the hip joint, the frame and the calf frame are rotatably connected by the knee joint, and the calf frame and the foot frame are rotatably connected by the ankle joint.

In recent years, research to improve the usability of the walking assistance device is being continued, and devices for assisting the user's muscle strength and walking in various shapes of an exoskeleton suit and a wearable suit have been developed.

However, these suits do not take individual users into account, but generally move as they are set by default, and thus, there is a problem that they may be awkward for people wearing assistive devices.

In this case, there is a problem that it may be harmful to the user's joints or muscles, and an accident may occur.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wearable suit capable of assisting according to the user's behavior by analyzing the movement of a user wearing a wearable suit.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to solve the above problem, according to an aspect of the present invention, a measurement unit including a plurality of sensors attached to a user's body and measuring a signal for the user's movement to collect a measurement value, and a movement of the user And a determination unit configured to determine whether the user is in a walking state or a falling state by matching the measured value to the behavior pattern in real time, and the determination unit determines whether the user is in a walking state or a falling state. Personalized information may be generated by storing and adding the behavior pattern to the behavior pattern.

In addition, when the user is in the fall state, the determination unit may store information on which the center of gravity of the user is moved in the personalized information.

In addition, the determination unit may divide the fall state into a first fall at which the fall starts and a second fall in contact with the impact target.

In addition, the determination unit may determine a position where the center of gravity of the user is moved.

In addition, the determination unit may determine a direction in which the center of gravity of the user is moved.

In addition, when the user is in the walking state, the determination unit may store information on the walking period of the user in the personalized information.

In addition, the determination unit may store the speed at which the user's right leg and left leg advance in the personalized information.

In addition, the measurement unit may be provided with a plurality of sensors to be interlocked with each other to form a virtual center of gravity region for the movement of the center of gravity of the user.

In addition, it may include a driving unit to assist the movement of the user through the personalization information of the determination unit.

According to the user adaptive wearable suit of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to assist walking in response to a movement of a user who uses the wearable or to quickly react to a point in time when a fall starts.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

The summary described above, as well as the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present application described below, may be better understood when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. However, it should be understood that this application is not limited to the precise arrangements and means shown.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall driving of a user adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an algorithm for personalizing a user adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 Is a diagram showing a state in which a soft sensor is attached in a user adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an IMU sensor is attached in a user adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a view showing a region of a center of gravity for walking and falls in a user adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a user adaptive wearable according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a drawing showing the area of the center of gravity changed according to personalization in the suit,

7 is a diagram illustrating a process of determining and learning a measurement value in a user adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing that personalized information is generated by adding data to a behavior pattern in a user adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a user adaptive wearable according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing the contents added to personalization information in the suit.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention in which the object of the present invention can be realized in detail will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the present embodiment, the same name and the same reference numeral are used for the same configuration, and additional description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall operation of a user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a personalization algorithm for a user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a view showing a state in which the soft sensor 120 is attached in the user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a user according to an embodiment of the present invention. (H) is a diagram showing a state in which the IMU sensor 140 is attached in the adaptive wearable suit, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing data to the behavior pattern 220 in the user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, it is a diagram showing that the personalized information 240 is generated, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the area of the center of gravity for walking and falls in the user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a diagram showing a region of a center of gravity changed according to personalization in the user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided in a form that the user (H) can wear, and may be in a form capable of measuring necessary data on the movement of the user (H).

Therefore, the wearable suit is provided with a number of sensors to measure the center of gravity of the user H and the movement of muscles or joints.

In addition, the wearable suit may have a previously learned behavior pattern 220 programmed.

The behavior pattern 220 is created by storing data while measuring the movement of the center of gravity in the movements of various users wearing a wearable suit, and the area where the center of gravity moves while walking, and the center of gravity when a fall starts. This refers to data that stores the measurement values of the center of gravity for the area and the area where the center of gravity is located in the event of an irreversible fall.

This behavior pattern 220 is mounted on the wearable suit of the present invention and can match the moving speed and moving position of the center of gravity according to the user's movement, and thus whether the user is in a walking state, a fall start state, or a fall state. It can be a criterion by which you can judge.

Meanwhile, the user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention may largely include a measurement unit 100 and a determination unit 200.

The measurement unit 100 includes a plurality of sensors attached to the user's body and measures a signal for the user's movement to collect measurement values.

In addition, the determination unit 200 matches the behavior pattern 220 in which the walking area and the fall area are divided according to the user's center of gravity and the measured value of the measurement unit 100, so that the user can match either the walking state or the falling state. Includes a determination unit 200 to determine whether it is applicable, but the determination unit 200 is the behavior obtained by learning the walking area and the fall area based on the previously stored measurement value or the measurement value continuously collected by the measurement unit 100 The pattern 220 is defined as the personalized information 240, and the behavior pattern 220 defined as the personalized information 240 is matched with the measured value newly collected by the measurement unit 100 to respond to the user's movement and make a judgment The unit 200 determines that the user has a movement in either a walking state or a fall state, and stores the measured value collected by the measurement unit 100 in the determination unit 200 to generate the personalized information 240.

The measurement unit 100 includes a plurality of sensors attached to the body of the user H and measures a signal for movement of the user H and collects the measured value.

In addition, the determination unit 200 includes a behavior pattern 220 capable of determining the movement of the user H, and matches the measured value in real time in the behavior pattern 220 to determine the walking state or a fall of the user H. It is possible to determine which one of the states corresponds to.

In addition, the determination unit 200 may generate personalized information 240 by storing and adding to the behavior pattern 220 through the measured value.

Here, the behavior pattern 220 obtained by learning the gait and fall areas may be simple patterns, but it includes all of the formulas (functions), types, areas, etc. that indicate the boundary of a specific area in which the measured values are grouped together. Is.

In addition, the meaning of learning may also be defined as a simple collection of measured values, but is not limited thereto, and includes all a series of processes for finding the above-described behavior pattern 220 (formula (function), type, area) from measured values. It can be defined as, and thus, it is natural that the scope of the present invention is not limited.

It will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the measurement unit 100 may be provided in a plurality of wearable suits of the present invention to collect data generated while the user H moves and acts.

In addition, the determination unit 200 may index the measured value in the behavior pattern 220 based on the behavior pattern 220 to determine what movement the user H is currently performing and in what state.

In addition, information of the user H may be stored in the behavior pattern 220.

At this time, things stored in the behavior pattern 220 may basically include information of the user H in addition to the measured values measured through a plurality of sensors.

Here, the information of the user H refers to a target wearing a wearable suit, and may be a disease, age, habit, etc. that the user H has.

The reason for storing the user (H) information in the wearable suit is that the wearable suit of the present invention can assist the user H to walk and respond to a fall. Assistance suitable for the user (H) can be performed.

For example, when the user H is lame on the right foot due to a disorder in the right leg, the forward speed of the left foot and the right foot may be different. Therefore, it is possible to store information on the lameness of the right foot in the behavior pattern 220.

In addition, the wearable suit can be controlled with the user (H) information and measurement values stored in the behavior pattern 220.

The wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a driving unit 300.

The driving unit 300 assists the movement of the user H through the personalized information 240 of the determination unit 200, and is provided to assist muscle strength when the user H walks and to prevent falls when a fall occurs. I can.

The driving unit 300 may be provided in the form of a module accommodating an actuator or a fluid to assist joint or muscle strength.

The user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided to be wearable by the user (H) to support the joint and to assist muscle strength, and a fluid is injected behind the knee so that the knee joint This extension can be assisted, and the impact can be buffered from the impact target in the situation where the user H falls.

Next, the overall algorithm will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

The user (H) adaptive wearable suit according to the present invention may include an IMU sensor 140 and a soft sensor 120 to measure the movement of the user (H) wearing the wearable suit.

The IMU sensor 140 measures the position, speed, and direction in which the center of gravity of the user H is moved, and the soft sensor 120 measures the movement of a muscle or joint.

When the user H wears the wearable suit, it operates (S01), and first, the IMU sensor 140 and the soft sensor 120 operate (S02, S03).

The IMU sensor 140 measures the movement of the user H and the determination unit 200 indexes it in the behavior pattern 220 to predict whether the user H is walking or falling (S05). When the measured value is indexed in the behavior pattern 220 and it is determined that the user H is standing or falling, a control signal may be transmitted to the driving unit 300 to assist the user H (S06).

In addition, by storing the measured value of the received IMU sensor 140 in the behavior pattern 220, it is possible to learn the movement of the user H for standing and falling (S07).

Through the above process, the measured value of the IMU sensor 140 is received in real time, the state of the user H is predicted through the behavior pattern 220, and the IMU measured value is continuously received and learned in the behavior pattern 220. Personalized information 240 that can be appropriately driven by a user H wearing a wearable suit is generated.

As for the user (H) walking continuously, when it is determined that the state of the user (H) is walking, the soft sensor 120 grasps the gait pattern of the user H, and at this time, it is measured by the IMU sensor 140. A measurement value determined to be walking in the behavior pattern 220 may also be included (S08).

Then, the walking period is calculated based on the walking data received from the soft sensor 120 (S09), and the walking period is transmitted to the driving unit 300 (S10) to learn walking information from the behavior pattern 220. can do.

The measured value of the soft sensor 120 for gait is reflected in the behavior pattern 220 in real time to learn, and it is possible to control the driving unit 300 so as to properly assist the user H wearing the suit.

In conclusion, after receiving information on the center of gravity and information on walking through the IMU sensor 140 and the soft sensor 120 in real time, and determining the current state of the user H in the behavior pattern 220 as walking or falling The default value of the existing behavior pattern 220 may be additionally learned to become a wearable suit suitable for the user H.

Next, the attachment positions of each of the sensors are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

3 is a location of the soft sensor 120, FIG. 4 is a location of the IMU sensor 140.

As illustrated, the soft sensor 120 may use a signal generated as the pelvis and thigh muscles are stretched or contracted as a measurement value.

It is provided on both legs, so it is possible to measure the forward and backward speed and time of each leg, and store the time and speed at which the user H crosses each other while walking.

Meanwhile, the IMU sensor 140 may be provided on both sides of the waist, the thigh, and both sides of the calf.

The reason why the IMU sensor 140 is provided as above is to measure the center of gravity of the user H at the same time as each of the IMU sensors 140 is interlocked with each other, and to determine to which position the entire center of gravity is moved.

In this embodiment, the behavior pattern 220 categorizes the fall situation into two types.

The user H includes a first fall that is determined to have started and a second fall that is in contact with the impact target.

This can form a boundary between walking and falling.

5 and 6 are virtual user (H) center of gravity regions formed through the IMU sensor 140.

As shown, a virtual center of gravity sphere may be formed through the action pattern 220 with respect to the center of gravity of the user (H).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, walking, a first fall, and a second fall are classified in the behavior pattern 220.

In addition, a virtual walking area, a virtual first fall area, and a virtual second fall area may be set to fit the user H wearing the wearable suit.

As described above, the values measured through the IMU sensor 140 and the soft sensor 120 are stored in the behavior pattern 220 in real time. In addition, as the user H moves, the boundary of the center of gravity of the behavior pattern 220 may be changed.

This is because the position and inclination of the center of gravity are different for each person.

For example, assume that the boundary between the virtual walking area and the virtual first fall area is 5 in the behavior pattern 220.

In the behavior pattern 220, the center of gravity may be a walking area in 1 to 4, and the center of gravity may be a first fall area in 5 and so on.

However, as the user (H) wears a wearable suit and performs various actions, the area of the center of gravity changes.

If the user H walks in 1 to 3, makes a first fall in 4 to 8, and a second fall in 9 to 10, the virtual area may be changed as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6.

This is because, in the behavior pattern 220, while the user H wears a wearable suit and moves, values measured from each sensor are added to the behavior pattern 220.

As described above, the determination unit 200 according to the present invention generates personalized information by adding a measurement value measured by a user's movement from the wearable suit W to a behavior pattern.

Specifically, the measurement values (S2-1.S2-2, S2-3, S2-4, S2-5) measured by five IMU sensors create a region of the center of gravity in which the measurement values are distributed over time. do.

Assume that the area of the center of gravity is for user 1.

The measured values of 1 by the user are distributed as measured values corresponding to areas of the gait, the first fall, and the second fall, so that a virtual boundary may be naturally formed by the gait, the first fall, and the second fall.

In this way, the determination unit 200 may store the measured value in real time to generate an area of only the user 1 for the user's gait, the first fall, and the second fall. Through this, the user's behavior is determined based on the values measured from L+1 to M as the gait, first and second falls created from the first to the L times, and then walk again, the first fall and the second fall. Learning is performed by storing the measured values corresponding to.

Therefore, the longer the user wears the wearable suit W, the more personalized information that can be driven to the user can be built.

As shown in Figure 8, the user (H) personalization by adding measured values for the walking speed and center of gravity through the user's walking, the first fall (fall prevention), and the second fall (fall) in real time. Information 240 may be generated.

In addition, a situation in which the user H walks according to the weather may be reflected in the personalized information 240.

For example, on a rainy day, the pace of walking may be, on average, slower than on a clear day.

And because of the use of an umbrella, the center of gravity may change.

In addition, when the user H is hiking, the center of gravity of walking and falling may be changed. This can be received by GPS or the like whether the user H's location is located in a mountain.

Personalized information 240 of the user H may be classified according to the situation by reflecting such personal user (H) information in the personalized information 240.

As shown in FIG. 9, if the weather is sunny and the location is a mountain in the morning, the personalization information 240 may provide the personalization information 240 of typeA to the driving unit 300.

Alternatively, if the weather is rainy and the user (H) is located in the city center in the afternoon, typeB may be provided to the driving unit 300 from the user (H) personalized information 240.

In this way, the user (H) wears a wearable suit and reflects the measured value in real time to the previously learned behavior pattern 220, and reflects the information of the user (H) to assist walking and weight set according to the situation. It is possible to grasp the state of the user H as the center.

As described above, preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been examined, and the fact that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or scope in addition to the above-described embodiments is known to those skilled in the art. It is self-evident to them. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the above description and may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

The present invention provides a user-adaptive wearable suit that personalizes the wearable suit by adapting to the user's movement worn by the wearable suit assisting the user's movement.

Claims

A measuring unit including a plurality of sensors attached to the user's body and measuring a signal for the user's movement to collect a measured value; And

A determination unit that determines whether the user falls into a walking state or a fall state by matching the measured value with a behavior pattern in which a walking area and a fall area are divided according to the user's center of gravity; But include

The determination unit defines the behavior pattern obtained by learning a walking area and a fall area based on a previously stored measurement value or the measurement value continuously collected by the measurement unit as personalized information,

Matching the behavior pattern defined as the personalized information with the measurement value newly collected by the measurement unit to correspond to the movement of the user,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 1,

The determination unit,

If the user is in the fall state,

Characterized in that the information on which the center of gravity of the user is moved is stored in the personalized information in real time,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 2,

The above personalization information,

Characterized in that the boundary between the walking area in which the measurement values are collected in the walking state and the fall area in which the measurement values are collected in the falling state is changed in real time,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 2,

The determination unit,

Characterized in that by determining the position where the center of gravity of the user is moved, the fall state is divided into a first fall in which the fall starts and a second fall in contact with the impact target,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 3,

The determination unit,

Characterized in that to determine the direction in which the center of gravity of the user is moved,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 1,

The determination unit,

When the user is in the walking state,

It characterized in that the information on the gait period of the user is stored in the personalized information,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 6,

The determination unit,

It characterized in that storing the speed at which the user's right leg and left leg advance in the personalized information,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 1,

The measuring unit,

A plurality of sensors are provided to be interlocked with each other to form a virtual center of gravity region for the movement of the center of gravity of the user,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
The method of claim 1,

It characterized in that it comprises a driving unit that assists the movement of the user through the personalization information of the determination unit,

User-adaptive wearable suit.
Including a plurality of sensors attached to the user's body, the user's movement is measured to generate a measurement value, and the plurality of sensors are interlocked with each other to form a virtual center of gravity region for the movement of the user's center of gravity. A measuring unit; And

A determination unit that determines whether the user falls into a walking state or a fall state by matching the measured value with a behavior pattern in which the gait area and the fall area are classified according to the user's center of gravity, the determination unit The behavior pattern obtained by learning the walking area and the fall area based on the stored measurement value or the measurement value continuously collected by the measurement unit is defined as personalized information, and the behavior pattern defined as the personalization information is defined as the measurement unit. Corresponds to the movement of the user by matching the measured value newly collected at, and the determination unit determines that the user has a movement in either a walking state or a fall state, and the measured value collected by the measurement unit is the Personalized information is generated by storing in the determination unit, and when the user is in the walking state, information on the gait cycle of the user is stored in the personalization information, and the speed at which the user's right leg and left leg advance is said. It is stored in personalized information, and when the user is in the fall state, information on which the center of gravity of the user is moved is stored in the personalization information, and the fall state is stored in the first fall and the second contact with the impact target. It is characterized in that to determine the direction in which the center of gravity of the user is moved by dividing into a fall, and to determine the speed at which the center of gravity of the user is moved,

User-adaptive wearable suit.