Let the machine do the work: learning to reduce the energetic cost of walking on a split-belt treadmill

Abstract

SECTIONSPDFPDFTOOLS SHARE The human body is capable of exploiting mechanical work provided by the external environment. A simple everyday example is the assistance provided by gravity when walking downhill, which can decrease energy cost. In recent decades, there have been numerous attempts to exploit this phenomenon in the form of wearable devices like powered exoskeletons, which can reduce the energy cost of walking (e.g. Malcolm et al . 2013). Such devices could eventually be of value to various human populations, including ageing individuals and those with gait‐related impairments.