An elderly man walks up a complex stone staircase environment while wearing the robot during a wearable challenge in Korea. Image courtesy of KIST.
Dr. Lee Jongwon of the Intelligent Robotics Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has developed a wearable robot, MOONWALK-Omni, which means “to actively support leg strength in any direction (omni-direction) to help walk like walking on the moon.” Further, he has announced that a senior citizen wearing it successfully completed a wearable robot challenge to climb to the top of Mount Yeongbong (604 meters above sea level) in Korea.
MOONWALK-Omni is an ultra-light weight wearable strength-assistance robot that predicts the user’s movements and supports insufficient leg strength to help the elderly rehabilitate and assist with daily activities. The 2-kilogram device can be easily donned by an older adult in less than 10 seconds without assistance, and its 4 high-powered actuators on either side of the pelvis help balance the user while walking and boost the wearer’s leg strength by up to 30% to increase propulsion.
The robot’s artificial intelligence analyzes the wearer’s gait in real time and provides safe and effective muscle support in a variety of walking environments, including gentle slopes, rough rocky paths, steep wooden stairs, and uneven stone steps. Through the Bukhansan Mountain Wearable Robot Challenge, the research team succeeded in verifying the performance and reliability of muscle support using wearable robots in everyday environments that are more complex than hospitals.
As a follow-up to this innovation, the research team is developing MOONWALK-Support, which not only strengthens leg muscles but also supports the complex joints of the lower extremities such as the hip and knee.
