SCH: Collaborative Research: A Multi-level Control Architecture of Agile Robotic Prostheses for Real-World Mobility over Challenging and Uneven Terrains

Powered lower limb prostheses have made significant technological progress, yet they continue to face major challenges in navigating real-world environments. Individuals with lower limb amputation often struggle with activities involving transitions between surfaces such as grass, gravel, or slopes, where current prosthetic controllers are limited in providing the necessary stability and agility. This Smart and Connected Health (SCH) project seeks to address that challenge by advancing the control strategies used in robotic ankle-foot prostheses. By understanding how humans adapt their movement when walking on different terrains, the research will inform the development of next-generation prostheses that can proactively and reactively adjust to changing environments. The goal is to enhance the independence, safety, and quality of life of individuals who rely on powered prostheses. In doing so, this work contributes to the national interest by promoting the progress of science and engineering, improving public health and welfare, and inspiring future innovation in assistive technology. The project seeks top support education by engaging students in hands-on research experiences that foster interest in robotics, biomechanics, and assistive technologies. The project will investigate the sensorimotor mechanisms that enable humans to walk dynamically over uneven and unpredictable terrain. These insights will be used to develop and validate a novel, multi-level control architecture for powered prosthetic limbs. The approach integrates proactive strategies based on predictive terrain recognition with reactive feedback-based stabilization. The control framework will be tested in real-world scenarios with individuals with limb loss to assess performance and identify failure modes. The research seeks to improve understanding of how to merge human neuromechanical signals with environmental feedback in a unified, robust control system. Outcomes look to include new methods for real-time adaptation in wearable robotics, advancements in the field of human-in-the-loop control, and broader applications in rehabilitation robotics and mobility assistive devices. Through rigorous experimental evaluation and community engagement, the project seeks to redefine the future of lower limb prosthetic function. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.