Safe Walking Route Recommender Based on Fall Risk Calculation Using a Digital Human Model on a 3D Map

Abstract

The recent increase in sedentary lifestyles has highlighted the importance of physical activity in our daily lives. Although fall accidents are a common cause of injuries among the elderly, walking is one of the simplest physical activities available. Therefore, walking route selection and identification of walking behavior in different scenarios remains a widely researched area. This paper is about developing a walking-route recommender system that proposes a safe route to the user and reduces the probability of fall accidents. We determine route candidates after the start and endpoints are fed to the system. Then the tripping risk involved in each route candidate is identified by performing several walking simulations of a digital human model on a three-dimensional laser-scanned point cloud. Finally, a safe route is determined after considering the user’s age and the tripping risk. It was confirmed that tripping risk could be competently estimated according to the considered age group.

Keywords

• Navigation
• fall prevention
• tripping risk
• walking simulation
• digital human model
• point cloud