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Figure 3 | Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation

Figure 3

From: Control strategies for active lower extremity prosthetics and orthotics: a review

Figure 3

Finite-state decompostition of level human gait. Steady-state locomotion can be represented as a periodic sequence of states (or phases), where the transitions between the states are triggered by events within the gait cycle. The choice of the number of states and the type of events used are somewhat arbitrary, and will depend on what information is available from the sensors and which joint the P/O is to actuate. In this example for the knee joints, stance has been divided into three states, with early and middle stance initiated by ground contact events at the heel and toe of the foot, for example determined using pressure sensitive insoles. Late stance is triggered when the user’s center of mass is estimated to be over the ankle, again using the insoles or estimates of the user’s whole-body posture through joint position sensing or inertial measurements. Swing flexion begins as the toe of the foot leaves the ground, and swing extension begins as the knee’s velocity is sensed to be less than zero. The cycle begins again as the heel comes into contact with the ground.

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