Development of a training device for 3-D training of the lower limbs
An innovative training device designed to enable the training of foot and ankle joints in a safe environment is being developed by Sensopro together with researchers from the Laboratory for Rehabilitation Engineering.
Factsheet
- Lead school School of Engineering and Computer Science
- Institute(s) Institute for Human Centered Engineering (HUCE)
- Research unit(s) HuCE / Reha Lab
- Funding organisation Innosuisse
- Duration (planned) 01.01.2023 - 31.12.2024
- Project management Prof. Dr. Juan Fang
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Juan Fang
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Project staff
Prof. Dr. Kenneth James Hunt
Michael Haldimann - Partner Sensopro AG
- Keywords Rehabilitation, balance training, Sensopro
Situation
Sensopro AG developed its main product Luna as a training tool for whole-body coordination. Luna has soft belts at the bottom of the device to provide different leg training paradigms as well as balance training. Recently, the company has brought Casa into market for individual domestic usage. Both products are training tools for fitness and for physiotherapy. To produce more training patterns, especially 3-dimensional (3-D) foot and ankle training, the project partners BFH and Sensopro AG previously developed a system which includes two shoe platforms with actuators and sensors.
Course of action
In the current project, the innovative Motor-Sensopro will be developed. It is a system with interactive feedback where two foot platforms and the active trunk support mechanism are mounted within a frame. The key technical innovation is the compact design and automatic control of the foot platforms and the active trunk support mechanism, which jointly provide multi-axis foot and ankle training, and also challenge the balance-keeping ability in a secure environment. In addition, interactive virtual reality and exergames provide users with intuitive guidance, and motivate them to actively participate in training and ski simulation.
