Estimating fall probability in cycling: Prediction of the effectiveness of a balance-assist bicycle in reducing falls

Most of the injuries sustained by cyclists are due to accidents that do not involve other road-users. This type of accident is known as a single-bicycle accident. A bicycle that is more stable may help to reduce the number of single-bicycle accidents. A balance-assist bicycle is developed at the TU Delft in collaboration with Royal Dutch Gazelle...

Simulating gait with the 3R60 knee prosthesis and a control moment gyroscope

Developing a new knee prosthesis requires thorough testing. Forward dynamics simulation can be valuable in the development process. It can reduce the need for intermediate prototypes and tests. Currently, there are 3D simulations of healthy walking and kinematic models of common prosthesis like the 3R60. However, they have not yet been combined....

Directional singularity-robust torque control for gyroscopic actuators

Gyroscopic actuation is appealing for wearable applications due to its ability to impart free moments on a body without exoskeletal structures on the joints.We recently proposed an unobtrusive balancing aid consisting of multiple parallelmounted control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) contained within a backpack-like orthopedic corset. Using...

Torque control design for minimalistic gyroscopic balance assistance

A minimalistic robotic device for aiding persons with degraded balancing ability was recently proposed, employing a number of single-gimbal control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) mounted to a backpack-like orthopedic corset. Once a fall is detected, the device must track a predefined moment profile to bring the subject upright or else slow the fall...

Indoor shoe for prevention of falls among older persons

In 2005 a study was done by a former student (B.H.Y. Oei) of TU Delft in design of footwear for the prevention of falls among seniors. The graduation project resulted in an extensive program of requirements and a manufactured model of the shoe, where the shoe company, called Intersko, initiated making a prototype of the shoe. From the final user...

Fall prevention in the bathroom

Falling is an common problem among older people (55 years and over), in the Netherlands only 95.000 elderly are treated in the emergency room because of a fall accident each year, of which 110 victims died after treatment. Four out of ten of these victims has fallen indoors, of which one out of eight was fallen in sanitary facilities. On a...