Development of Gait Analysis System Based on the Tactile Sensor and the RGB Camera

Abstract

A study related to life after stroke found that balance and walking difficulties were the most requested area of research, especially among the elderly. In a study of stroke patients, they exhibited slower walking speeds, asymmetrical gait, unstable balance, and lower functional performance. To measure quantitative gait parameters, various systems have been developed to measure and analyze gait information. However, commercial gait analysis systems are expensive and not completely non-wearable. Therefore, we developed a system that combines the Tactile sensor and the RGB camera to perform accurate gait analysis while considering non-wearability and the low cost of the system. We performed a pilot test to analyze the temporal and spatial parameters of the walking-in-place with the proposed gait analysis system. The pilot test was able to obtain quantitative gait parameters. For future work, we plan to measure ground contact detection of abnormal gait in stroke patients as well as spatial and temporal gait parameters by extending tactile sensors longer according to the direction of walking.