Patent attributes
A walking assist device which allays uneasiness felt by a user when a wearable device actively applies torque to a leg. A walking assist device comprises a controller, a headphone and a wearable device attached to left and right legs. The wearable device has a sensor that detects motion of the user's leg and a motor that applies torque to a joint of the user's leg. The controller controls the wearable device such that the joint angle of the user follows a target pattern which represents time-dependent changes of a target joint angle. The controller specifies a change timing at which a time-dependent change of the target joint angle in the target pattern meets a predetermined condition, and informs the user, before the specified change timing, that the change timing is arriving. The uneasiness felt by the user when an actuator actively applies torque to the leg joint is allayed by informing the user of the motion before the actuator performs that motion.
