Development of Low-Cost Robust Sensing for Gait Estimation in Robotic Ankle Exoskeletons

Alejandro Astudillo (Harvard University)

Alejandro, a software engineer from UPM and researcher at Harvard University, specializes in robotics, sensing, and control systems with a dedicated focus on developing biomedical devices that improve quality of life. His current work addresses the limitations of robotic ankle exoskeletons, which, despite their potential to significantly enhance post-stroke walking, often rely on costly and unreliable IMU-based control strategies that struggle outside laboratory environments. To facilitate real-world deployment, Alejandro has refined the sensing and estimation pipeline by replacing high-end sensors with low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) units. By implementing alignment algorithms to increase robustness against sensor placement variability and modifying gait estimation to eliminate the need for one of the IMUs, he has developed a more accessible and resilient platform for gait assistance.

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