Shoe-type device to estimate body balance focusing on the relationship between CoM and BoS estimated from CoP

In modern society, body falling of elderly people is a problem that needs to be solved. In particular, old elderly people often fall indoors during activities of daily life. This study focuses on the relationship between the base of support(BoS) and center of mass(CoM), and aims to develop a shoe-type device that can estimate the body balance of elderly people. In this study, we propose an algorithm that can estimate the position of the BoS and CoM using a pressure sensor attached to the sole of a shoe and an ultrasonic sensor. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by comparing the estimated position of the CoM in the shoe-type device with the position of the CoM in a 3D motion analyzer. The results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed method for estimating the position of the CoM in front-back posture change during standing.