Misato Nihei
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, the University of Tokyo

1. Introduction

Mobility is the act of moving one’s entire body from one place to another. It can have a broad range of objectives, from the activities of daily living, such as shopping, visiting the hospital, or going to school or work, to activities such as the human interactions which accompany these, or participation in society. If mobility activities are impeded, this impacts not only mobility itself but also various aspects of activity and participation. For this reason, mobility support devices play an important role in daily life.

Mobility support devices include welfare equipment such as canes, walkers, wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, and so on. The body becomes more familiar with such devices the more it uses them, until it treats them just like a part of itself. It can be thought that this is due to human flexibility and adaptability, allowing us to change to fit in with machinery or the environment.

In recent years, new possibilities have appeared in the field of mobility support devices, due to the development of technologies such as robotics, communications technology, and the IoT (Internet of Things). These include technologies in which machines sense human movements and match their own movements to assist them; those which utilize information obtained from people, machines, or the environment; and those which alter control methods to match the environment. These technologies could also be called technologies in which machines adapt themselves to people, in line with changes in people or the environment.

In this article, I will introduce these technologies which change to match people, the practical application of which is progressing recently. In addition, I will also introduce even newer mobility support technologies which connect people and places.　

2. People, mobility support devices, and environments

There are exoskeleton-type walking aids in which actuators such as motors are attached to joints of the lower limbs as devices to assist people who have loss of muscle strength in the lower limbs or difficulties in walking. In order to produce a smooth and natural gait, technologies which can sense the body’s movements and myoelectricity and control the motors to match a person’s manner of walking are necessary. Moreover, it is important for assistive technologies which compensate for muscle strength, for example, to control their output appropriately, aiming to harmonize with other body parts. These technologies are widely known for their use in power assisted bicycles, but they have recently also been put to use in automatically controlled walkers (assistive walkers which employ sensors to determine the situation of the person walking and provide appropriate support), assistive wheelchairs (self-propelled wheelchairs which detect the torque used to push the hand rims of the wheels and use electricity to assist the driving torque), and so on.

Remote control functions of electric wheelchairs are functions which use Bluetooth transmissions from smartphones, for example, to steer wheelchairs. Users can make an electric wheelchair which they have placed at a distance from them move towards them, change the direction in which the wheelchair is facing after transferring to the toilet, etc., or move just the wheelchair outside their room. Furthermore, with the development of IoT technologies, it has become possible to make use of the control or driving history. There are high hopes for the application of these technologies to traceability management, such as incident mapping and the repair of parts, and to individual adjustment, such as for the load, based on vital data.

The capability to adapt to the environment is also required of mobility support devices. Recent high-performance electric wheelchairs have the ability to drive across differences in level of around 5 cm, and to suppress vibrations from the road’s surface. Moreover, the iBOT®PMD (MOBIUS MOBILITY) is able to cope with climbing up and down steps using a method involving the rotation of two sets of drive wheels, as well as raising the passenger up high through two-wheel inverted control, and driving over sandy beaches, gravel, or rough ground.    

3. Utilization of location data and support

Technologies to obtain indoor and outdoor location data include GPS (Global Positioning System) outdoors, and positioning technology through Wi-Fi or beacons capable of short-range communication indoors. It is possible to apply the utilization of these information and communications technologies to a variety of services. For example, if a spatial network for walking could be put in place outdoors, it would become possible to search for the shortest route to a destination, and for wheelchair users to choose a route with few changes in level. Partnerships with public transport to obtain information about delays and allow users to communicate their intention to ride the vehicles would also become possible. Thanks to the proliferation of small GPS communications devices which can be used for long periods, there are safety support systems in operation which allow family members to allay their concerns about children or elderly people going out alone by keeping an eye on them on their smartphones, using location data. Indoors, there are walking navigation systems using information from mobile devices and so on, and the provision of information on the level of crowding of places and spaces using data on people’s comings and goings.

4. Mobility support devices which the user does not operate; leap over barriers; or do not move

Next, I will introduce three technologies currently in the process of research and development which do not fit into the existing framework of mobility support devices.

At the same time that self-driving technology for automobiles is moving ahead, the development of self-driving technology is also advancing in the field of personal mobility. A variety of technologies are being developed. These include everything from safety technologies when several vehicles are driving one behind the other, allowing a vehicle to follow the one in front, control its speed according to the degree of crowding, or drive around or stop in front of obstacles; driving support technologies which search for routes and determine the range within which you can drive; to completely automatic driving. The realization of these self-driving technologies, which the user does not operate, bring hope for the mobility of people for whom the operation of vehicles has been difficult so far, such as people with physical disabilities or impaired vision.

Advances in drone technology are also bringing progress in the development of flying cars and single-passenger drones. Single-passenger flying vehicles are the ultimate vehicles, eliminating environmental barriers such as differences in level or steps. At present, a few prototypes for outdoor use are under development, and test flights are taking place. Chairs which fly through the sky are surely the ultimate form of mobility support device.

On the other hand, there are trials using VR (virtual reality) technologies to make social participation such as activities, experiences, or human interactions at your destination a reality. For example, VR travel, with which you can experience 360° scenery and sounds, allows you to go to places which were inaccessible due to physical obstacles or mobility restrictions through an HMD (head mounted display). Communications mediated by avatars or humanoid robots are another means to release users from bodily or mobility restrictions.

5. Conclusion

The use of various technologies has allowed people, including those with disabilities, to move long distances rapidly and safely. On the other hand, there are also big issues with the utilization of these new technologies, including the legislative framework, personal data, privacy, ethics, safety, the risk of accidents, insurance systems, and so on. Discussions about the acceptability of the technologies – the ways in which society will take them on board, including these issues – are also needed. In order to make the futures which each person imagines a reality, society as a whole needs to think about and debate these issues. It may take time, but in the course of discussing these technologies which are being developed, the functions which are truly necessary will surely be selected, refined, and some will be accepted by society.

Incidentally, it seems at first glance as if the developers have moved ahead with these technologies in order to support people for whom mobility is difficult. However, I do not think that this is the case. Mobility support technologies are a means; the most important thing is the motivation to do something. It is surely the desire and expectation to go somewhere, meet someone, or do something, that makes you excited, which supports (becomes the driving force behind) the development of technology and society in the ideal direction.

TOYOTA
Independent walking assistive robot
https://global.toyota/jp/detail/15989155 (Japanese),
https://toyotatimes.jp/en/insidetoyota/180.html (English)

RT. Works
Robot assistive walker RT.2
https://www.rtworks.co.jp/ (Japanese)

YAMAHA
JW Swing
iBOT®PMD
https://mobiusmobility.com/

WHILL self-driving (image) WHILL
https://whill.inc/jp/

OryLab
Avatar robot Orihime
https://orihime.orylab.com/

VR travel experience
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, the University of Tokyo