Students from Rice University made a robotic horse simulator to make hippotherapy more accessible. This method of treatment is used to rehabilitate people after stroke and brain injuries, in cerebral palsy, neurological and other disorders. Studies show the positive impact of riding on balance, gait and posture, but this is a very expensive exercise.
Studies show the positive effect of horse riding on balance, gait and posture. Unfortunately, this is a very expensive exercise. Engineering students from Rice University designed a robotic horse imitating the movements of a real one. A device called Stewie is intended for use by people who are recommended to hippotherapy, but who for some reason cannot afford the road to a horse farm or the classes themselves.
Data for software was collected from real horses at a ranch in Texas using accelerometers. The six degrees of freedom of the robot allow you to simulate several
variants of gait , from which the therapist will be able to choose the optimal mode. At the heart of the robot -
platform Gew-Stewart .
Interestingly, the students initially intended to use a complex accelerometer. But the professor pointed out that their phones already have a similar sensor. As a result, students used the app cost in a dollar to collect all the necessary data. The smartphone was glued to the back of the saddle and rode a horse. The data was then loaded into the control panel so that patients and physiotherapists could select the duration and intensity of the procedure.
Students will soon graduate, but hope that the project will continue to exist without them. Therefore, they tried to use the materials that everyone can find, and publish the code in the public domain. The device is designed for use by people weighing up to 113 kilograms. Additionally, students want to make different types of seats for different types of diseases.
At Rice University, robots have been made for several years. This time, the device looks almost like a commercial version of a simulator for children, although it looks more like a donkey Ia.
This is not the first such project from University students. In 2016, another team that called itself Hippo Riders
designed a smaller mechanical device with two degrees of freedom. The device allows you to adjust the desired speed, but to create it, as the team leader said, did not need computer science skills. The transition to the next level was to be made by the next group of students in a year.
Hippotherapy, including horse riding simulation, has a positive effect on the ability to maintain balance in children with
cerebral palsy , the method strengthens the core muscles, improves coordination and spatial orientation, stabilizes the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, reduces stress levels,
improves memory and attention .