Exoskeletons supporting postural balance – the BALANCE project

Lower extremity exoskeleton robots have become an established technology, especially in the field of gait rehabilitation training. However, none of the devices available on the market use the exoskeleton itself to support postural balance. On the contrary, all need additional supports as crutches or overhead supports, or need the user perform the balance control. The target of the BALANCE research project is to explore and implement the possibility to use the exoskeleton itself to support postural balance and prevent falls during walking. The main challenges and initial progress of this project are described in this abstract.