AI and IoT-Enabled Smart Exoskeleton System for Rehabilitation of Paralyzed People in Connected Communities

Sunil Jacob; Mukil Alagirisamy; Chen Xi; Venki Balasubramanian; Ram Srinivasan; Parvathi R.; N. Z. Jhanjhi; Sardar M. N. Islam

doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3083093

IEEE Access (Jan 2021)

AI and IoT-Enabled Smart Exoskeleton System for Rehabilitation of Paralyzed People in Connected Communities

Sunil Jacob,
Mukil Alagirisamy,
Chen Xi,
Venki Balasubramanian,
Ram Srinivasan,
Parvathi R.,
N. Z. Jhanjhi,
Sardar M. N. Islam

Affiliations

Sunil Jacob: ORCiD; Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Mukil Alagirisamy: ORCiD; Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Chen Xi: School of Business, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, China
Venki Balasubramanian: ORCiD; School of Science, Engineering and Information Technology, Federation University, Mount Helen, VIC, Australia
Ram Srinivasan: ORCiD; School of Electrical Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Norman Gardens, QLD, Australia
Parvathi R.: Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, SCMS School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi, India
N. Z. Jhanjhi: School of Computer Science and Engineering (SCE), Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
Sardar M. N. Islam: ORCiD; Applied Informatics Research, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3083093
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 9
pp. 80340 – 80350

Abstract

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In recent years, the number of cases of spinal cord injuries, stroke and other nervous impairments have led to an increase in the number of paralyzed patients worldwide. Rehabilitation that can aid and enhance the lives of such patients is the need of the hour. Exoskeletons have been found as one of the popular means of rehabilitation. The existing exoskeletons use techniques that impose limitations on adaptability, instant response and continuous control. Also most of them are expensive, bulky, and requires high level of training. To overcome all the above limitations, this paper introduces an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered Smart and light weight Exoskeleton System (AI-IoT-SES) which receives data from various sensors, classifies them intelligently and generates the desired commands via Internet of Things (IoT) for rendering rehabilitation and support with the help of caretakers for paralyzed patients in smart and connected communities. In the proposed system, the signals collected from the exoskeleton sensors are processed using AI-assisted navigation module, and helps the caretakers in guiding, communicating and controlling the movements of the exoskeleton integrated to the patients. The navigation module uses AI and IoT enabled Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). The casualties of a paralyzed person are reduced by commissioning the IoT platform to exchange data from the intelligent sensors with the remote location of the caretaker to monitor the real time movement and navigation of the exoskeleton. The automated exoskeleton detects and take decisions on navigation thereby improving the life conditions of such patients. The experimental results simulated using MATLAB shows that the proposed system is the ideal method for rendering rehabilitation and support for paralyzed patients in smart communities.

Published in IEEE Access

ISSN: 2169-3536 (Online)
Publisher: IEEE
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering
Website: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6287639

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