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FallGown: A Soft Pneumatic Wearable Device for Fall Prevention

Megan C. Coram, Haoran Lei, Steven H. Collins, Steve B. Cousins, Michelle Baldonado, Cynthia Sung, Allison M. Okamura

arXiv:2610.12706v1cs.RO

TL;DR

Fear of falling can keep older adults from low-impact exercise; FallGown is an inflatable, body-supporting skirt designed for hands-free movement. In testing, the wheeled frame increased fall-prevention success, though a wheel failure caused one sideways tip.

  • Problem

    Fear of falling can keep older adults from low-impact exercise, and the authors knew of no portable inflatable lower-body device aiming to support full body weight.

    Source: §I · p. 2

  • Method

    FallGown uses individually inflatable pouches within a fabric shell to provide wearable body support, and the team evaluated stability, setup, burden, fall prevention, and sensing.

    Source: §II · p. 2, §III · p. 3

  • Results

    The wheeled frame increased fall-prevention success, though one sideways failure followed a wheel coming off.

    Source: E. Fall Prevention · p. 5

  • Takeaways & Limitations

    Pressure sensors register pouch compression during leaning, offering signals for future exercise guidance and responsive support.

    Source: F. Usage Monitoring · p. 6

    Evaluation involved only the research team; safe testing with older adults with mobility challenges remains future work.

    Source: §III · p. 3

Abstract

from arXiv · show

Concerns about falling and potential resulting injuries prevent many older adults from participating in forms of health-improving exercise such as walking, dance, and tai chi. Existing passive devices like walkers require use of the arms for support, and active devices like exoskeletons and robotic frames are often rigid, bulky, and stigmatized, which limits their use. The FallGown is a soft wearable support structure consisting of pressurized pneumatic pouches within a fabric shell; it can support the full weight of a user's body and aims to prevent falls. It is portable (6.9 kg and 0.051 m3 when stored), minimally burdensome (7.24-20.8 N drag force depending on floor type and whether an optional rolling base frame is used), and convenient (less than 2.5 minutes on average to don and less than 0.5 minutes on average to doff). The optional rolling base lowers friction with the floor, but reduces portability and skirt deformation (which can be useful to fit through doors and other tight spaces). Fall prevention testing with a single user revealed a tradeoff between device size and stability against tipping; a skirt with 12 pneumatic pouches and a floor diameter of 1.4 meters with a base frame prevented all falls except in one case with a mechanical failure. On-board pressure sensors can sense the user's weight distribution, providing an opportunity for monitored exercise and adaptive support.

I. INTRODUCTION

Fear of falling can keep older adults from low-impact exercise, while existing supports may restrict movement or lack full-body support. FallGown combines a soft wearable support with evaluation methods aimed at hands-free exercise.

I. INTRODUCTION

  • The authors knew of no portable inflatable lower-body device that attempts full-body-weight support.Soft exosuits may be difficult to don and doff and usually cannot support the user’s full body weight.Source: §I · p. 1
  • Fear of falling can lead older adults to opt out of low-impact exercise or rely on walkers, which can prevent whole-body movement.The challenge arose during individual or group activities such as dance and tai chi.Source: §I · p. 2
  • FallGown is an inflatable, conical skirt designed to support a user’s weight while allowing hands-free movement.Its design evokes a ball gown rather than a clinical aesthetic.Source: §I · p. 2
  • The work contributes both the wearable device and evaluation methods addressing assistive-technology needs identified by patients and physiotherapists.Source: §I · p. 2

II. DESIGN AND FABRICATION

FallGown uses an inflated structure within a fabric shell to balance support, portability, comfort, and movement. Its discrete pouches and protective shell address weaknesses observed in earlier prototypes.

II. DESIGN AND FABRICATION

  • The design uses an inflated structure to support the body while minimizing device weight, with pliable textiles that fold when deflated.An adjustable harness and soft cotton outer layer address comfort; the wide base supports movement and stability.Source: §II · p. 2
  • A single narrow tube buckled under leaning loads, motivating a continuous surface with a robust structure.The first single-layer prototype also risked catastrophic failure from fabrication defects or puncture.Source: Figure 2 · p. 2, §II · p. 2
  • The final design separates individually strong, airtight pouches from the outer shell, avoiding the single-pocket prototype’s vulnerability to any puncture or tear.The shell also prevents individual members from buckling.Source: §II · p. 2
  • The sewn shell forms two concentric cones linked by spacers, with front zippers for access and a harness anchoring the skirt at the hips and upper legs.An optional wheeled frame increases conical rigidity and reduces sliding friction with the ground.Source: §II · p. 2, Figure 3 · p. 3

III. EVALUATION

The evaluation examines FallGown’s performance across device stability, usability, wearer burden, fall prevention, and usage monitoring. The tests establish feasibility and an evaluation approach, not readiness for testing with the target population.

III. EVALUATION

  • The evaluation covers stability and load-bearing, compactness and setup, donning and doffing, wearer burden, fall prevention, and usage monitoring.Source: §III · p. 3
  • Research-team members conducted the tests; safe testing with human subjects, especially older adults with mobility challenges, was left for future work.Source: §III · p. 3
  • The evaluation aims to demonstrate design feasibility and establish methods for assessing the approach against assistive-device needs.It is intended to set the stage for future comprehensive, ecologically valid user testing.Source: §III · p. 3

A. Stability and Compressive Load

Scaled compression tests found that all three segment counts resisted catastrophic buckling, while the 12-segment prototype had the smoothest and most nearly linear load response. Finer segmentation also provided a larger central opening without enlarging the outer structure.

A. Stability and Compressive Load

  • Finer segmentation produced a larger central opening at the base, giving more walking room without increasing the outer structure’s size.The study compared scaled 4-, 8-, and 12-segment prototypes.Source: A. Stability and Compressive Load · p. 3
  • Each prototype was compressed vertically by 31 mm, or 20% of its nominal height, at 10 mm/s.The prototypes were loaded along their vertical axes between flat compression plates.Source: A. Stability and Compressive Load · pp. 3–4
  • The 12-segment prototype showed the smoothest and most nearly linear load development, and none of the three prototypes buckled catastrophically.The 4-segment response included a local plateau and slight force reduction; the 8-segment response was smoother but nonlinear.Source: Figure 4 · p. 3, A. Stability and Compressive Load · p. 4

B. Compactness and Setup

The FallGown can be stored compactly when deflated, but setting it up requires inflating twelve pouches and may require assistance. Its donning sequence includes putting on the harness, entering the skirt, closing it, and attaching the harness.

B. Compactness and Setup

  • 6.9 kg total weight (6.4 kg skirt and 0.5 kg harness); deflated, the skirt fits in a 43×41×29 cm box.The inflated and deflated device are shown beside a 12 cm soda can for scale.Source: B. Compactness and Setup · p. 4, Figure 5 · p. 4
  • About 15 minutes are required to inflate all twelve pouches with a portable pump; each pouch takes 58 ± 9 seconds on average.Full pressure is 0.2 psi (about 1.4 kPa).Source: B. Compactness and Setup · p. 4
  • Donning requires putting on the harness, stepping into the skirt, closing it, and buckling the harness to the skirt.The figure depicts the sequence of these steps.Source: Figure 6 · p. 4

C. Donning and Doffing

In tests with a healthy young adult, the FallGown took about 89 seconds to don alone and 12 seconds to doff. A helper took longer to put it on a passive user, and the authors expect the process to take longer for their target population.

C. Donning and Doffing

  • 89±33 seconds to don alone and 12±1 seconds to doff were the averages for an able-bodied person.Each timing condition was repeated three times.Source: C. Donning and Doffing · p. 4
  • A helper took an average of 145 ± 26 seconds to dress a passive user and 27 ± 4 seconds to remove the device.Source: C. Donning and Doffing · p. 4
  • Donning times varied substantially, mainly because the zipper sometimes caught on nearby fabric; the process will likely take longer for the target population.Source: C. Donning and Doffing · p. 4

D. Burden

Movement burden was assessed by dragging the skirt across different floors at a steady pace. The reported guidance distinguishes the wheeled frame for frequent lateral movement from the skirt alone for more stationary exercise.

D. Burden

  • The drag-force setup pulls the skirt horizontally across a floor at constant speed using a force gauge.The test measures force during steady sliding to represent burden during constant motion.Source: Figure 7 · p. 4, D. Burden · pp. 4–5
  • The wheeled frame is best suited to frequent lateral movement, while the skirt alone may work well for more stationary exercise.This recommendation is based on drag friction.Source: D. Burden · p. 5, Table I · p. 5
  • The burden estimate uses an approximate 81.7 kg average body weight for people over 60 and a polynomial approximation of metabolic-rate increase as waist load rises.Source: D. Burden · p. 5

E. Fall Prevention

Fall-prevention tests with one experimenter showed that outcomes depended on skirt size, body posture, and the optional frame. The frame improved stability but made it harder to pass through narrow spaces, and its separate contributions to stability remain uncertain.

E. Fall Prevention

  • The 12-segment skirt prevented forward falls and could prevent other falls when the experimenter relaxed, but a rigid posture still led to tipping.The 8-segment skirt failed in every direction; the 10-segment skirt prevented side and back falls only when the experimenter bent their knees.Source: E. Fall Prevention · p. 5, Figure 8 · p. 5, Table II · p. 5
  • The frame stiffened and raised the base, increasing fall-prevention success, but one sideways failure followed a wheel coming off.Source: E. Fall Prevention · p. 5, Table II · p. 5
  • The frame makes it harder to pass through doorways or narrow spaces because it prevents the skirt from compressing.Source: E. Fall Prevention · p. 5
  • Further testing is needed to determine whether the frame’s rigidity or its added height contributed more to stability.The skirt is 101 cm tall, near the experimenter’s estimated 100 cm center-of-mass height; the frame adds 10 cm.Source: E. Fall Prevention · p. 5

F. Usage Monitoring

Pressure changes in the FallGown’s twelve pouches corresponded to the direction of a user’s lean. The authors identify potential uses in posture and balance monitoring, exercise guidance, and responsive support.

F. Usage Monitoring

  • Pressure peaks in the pouches corresponded to lean direction, with most leans supported primarily by one or two pouches.Forward leans involved more pouches because four pouches have narrower tops to fit snugly at the waist.Source: F. Usage Monitoring · p. 6
  • Real-time pressure peaks could help detect risky leans and issue alerts if the user does not recover within a specified time.Source: F. Usage Monitoring · p. 6
  • Pressure data could assess balance, guide purposeful leaning stretches or dance moves, and track changes in balance or support needs over time.Source: F. Usage Monitoring · p. 6

IV. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

The FallGown is described as stable under load, compact to store, and quick to set up, while wearer burden varies with configuration and floor. The authors identify hardware refinements, future sensor capabilities, and testing with older adults as next steps.

IV. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

  • Wider FallGown versions prevented falls more frequently but were less usable in confined environments.The authors also report that burden depends on device configuration and floor type.Source: §IV · p. 6
  • Proposed hardware changes include widening the base, improving the frame, reducing drag, and offering adjustable support and appearance options.Other suggestions include soft check valves, embedded pressure sensors, and additional ring pouches for height adjustment.Source: §IV · p. 6
  • On-board pressure sensors could support posture alerts, active responses to falls, exercise guidance, and support levels adjusted to users’ energy and health.Source: §IV · p. 6
  • Testing with older adults who struggle with weakness and balance remains future work, as does evaluation with other populations with impaired balance.The authors say such testing would help establish the device’s utility and identify areas for improvement.Source: §IV · p. 6
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