ArticleFrontiers in neurorobotics2020
A Smart Robotic Walker With Intelligent Close-Proximity Interaction Capabilities for Elderly Mobility Safety.
Article in Frontiers in neurorobotics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Functions and Sensors of Smart Walkers From 2015 to 2024: Scoping Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2026Review
- Promotion and preservation of mobility and autonomy in old age through smart rollators-a qualitative study.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Development of a smart walker for clinical settings: a protocol of an exploratory mixed-methods study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Enhancing Self-Efficacy Through Robotic Safety Support in Balance-Challenging Reach Tasks: Feasibility Study in Young Adults.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2025Article
- From Sensors to Care: How Robotic Skin Is Transforming Modern Healthcare-A Mini Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Development and control of a robotic assistant walking aid for fall risk reduction.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
- Development of Assistance Level Adjustment Function for Variable Load on a Forearm-Supported Robotic Walker.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Socially assistive walker for daily living assistance in older adults.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2024Article
- Evaluating Gait Stability and Muscle Activation in Different Hand Holding Conditions Using the Robotic Walker-mTPAD.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Hold My Hand: Development of a Force Controller and System Architecture for Joint Walking with a Companion Robot.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Multimodal fusion and human-robot interaction control of an intelligent robot.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2023Article
- ROS-Based Smart Walker with Fuzzy Posture Judgement and Power Assistance.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The elderly population has rapidly increased in past years, bringing huge demands for elderly serving devices, especially for those with mobility impairment. Present assistant walkers designed for elderly users are primitive with limited user interactivity and intelligence. We propose a novel smart robotic walker that targets a convenient-to-use indoor walking aid for the elderly. The walker supports multiple modes of interactions through voice, gait or haptic touch, and allows intelligent control via learning-based methods to achieve mobility safety. Our design enables a flexible, initiative and reliable walker due to the following: (1) we take a hybrid approach by combining the conventional mobile robotic platform with the existing rollator design, to achieve a novel robotic system that fulfills expected functionalities; (2) our walker tracks users in front by detecting lower limb gait, while providing close-proximity walking safety support; (3) our walker can detect human intentions and predict emergency events, e.g., falling, by monitoring force pressure on a specially designed soft-robotic interface on the handle; (4) our walker performs reinforcement learning-based sound source localization to locate and navigate to the user based on his/her voice signals. Experiment results demonstrate the sturdy mechanical structure, the reliability of multiple novel interactions, and the efficiency of the intelligent control algorithms implemented. The demonstration video is available at: https://sites.google.com/view/smart-walker-hku.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.