Bilateral Elimination Rule-Based Finite Class Bayesian Inference System for Circular and Linear Walking Prediction

TL;DR

This study introduces a new system that accurately predicts transitions between circular and linear walking using motion data from inertial sensors.

Contribution

The novel BER-FC-BesIS system uses bilateral motion data and Bayesian inference to predict walking activity transitions with high accuracy.

Findings

The system predicts left and right lower limb walking activities with mean times of 119.32 ms and 113.75 ms.

Prediction accuracy of BER-FC-BesIS reaches 93.98%.

The system's mean time difference between predicted and real walking transitions is under 15 ms for both limbs.

Abstract

Objective: The prediction of upcoming circular walking during linear walking is important for the usability and safety of the interaction between a lower limb assistive device and the wearer. This study aims to build a bilateral elimination rule-based finite class Bayesian inference system (BER-FC-BesIS) with the ability to predict the transition between circular walking and linear walking using inertial measurement units. Methods: Bilateral motion data of the human body were used to improve the recognition and prediction accuracy of BER-FC-BesIS. Results: The mean predicted time of BER-FC-BesIS in predicting the left and right lower limbs’ upcoming steady walking activities is 119.32 ± 9.71 ms and 113.75 ± 11.83 ms, respectively. The mean time differences between the predicted time and the real time of BER-FC-BesIS in the left and right lower limbs’ prediction are 14.22 ± 3.74 ms and 13.59 ± 4.92 ms, respectively. The prediction accuracy of BER-FC-BesIS is 93.98%. Conclusion: Upcoming steady walking activities (e.g., linear walking and circular walking) can be accurately predicted by BER-FC-BesIS innovatively. Significance: This study could be helpful and instructional to improve the lower limb assistive devices’ capabilities of walking activity prediction with emphasis on non-linear walking activities in daily living.

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