Abstract
An efficient and stable gait control is an essential problem to develop a legged locomotor device for paraplegics. In this study, we investigate a necessary condition of the ballistic walking to avoid a backward balance loss. The condition derived by an inverted pendulum model is represented as a simple relationship between a position and velocity of a body center of mass at toe-off. The condition was validated through simulation experiments of a 7-link musculoskeletal model and gait measurement experiments of normal and paraplegic subjects. The results of the model simulation showed a good agreement with some predictions of the inverted pendulum model. The measured center of mass trajectories of normal and paraplegic gaits were satisfied with the necessary condition. These results suggest that the necessary condition is effective to avoid a backward falling during walking. In addition, energy input was required in a double support phase while the trajectory followed the ballistic movement of the inverted pendulum in a single support phase for a normal subject. These results suggest that a power assist control to be satisfied with the necessary condition during a double support phase and a ballistic gait generation during a single support phase are required for a paraplegic locomotor with efficiency and stability.
