A new mobility-aid vehicle with a unique turning system

The development of assistive technologies, especially mobility devices, has an important impact on the daily activities and social participation of elderly people. The authors have developed a new mobility aid, "Tread-Walk", which extends mobility activities, maintains body function and maintains natural walking appearance. In the current research, we designed and developed a more natural operation system based on human walking movements. The new system concept is to use separate treadmill belts to measure the acceleration/ deceleration force of each leg and use it as the input signal to change the direction of the system. This new device, "Tread-Walk 2", permits the user to walk naturally while a servo motor amplifies his normal walking speed. Its main components are a treadmill with two belts, two middle driving wheels, and four omni-directional casters. Sensors in the treadmill detect forward and backward reaction forces that are applied to the surfaces of the belts during walking. These forces for each leg are recognized as signal of the user's intention to change direction and are used to turn the vehicle. These sensors also control the rotational speed of the driving wheel motors. Preliminary evaluations indicate that this turning system is both safe and effective for use by elderly people.