Influence evaluation of multi-task conditions on walking balance via hip acceleration variation

Abstract

 In this study, we evaluated the influence of multi-task conditions on walking balance, by investigating the variation of hip acceleration. We employed an inertial measurement unit（IMU）sensor attached to the hips of subjects, and measured the hip acceleration during normal walking and walking under multi-task conditions. The hip acceleration with respect to the base frame was derived by Kalman filter, and we defined the increase rate of acceleration during walking under multi-task conditions to the one during normal walking. The results suggested that the auditory task and the combination of auditory and calculation tasks influence walking balance, and the acceleration in the left and right directions with respect to traveling direction were mainly deviated by the tasks. Moreover, we showed that walking balance is capable to be evaluated by a simple system utilizing only one IMU sensor.