‘For Our Grandmas’: Teens Design AI-Enabled Walking Stick Attachment To Prevent Falls Among Seniors

Falls in old age are a significant concern, often leading to serious injuries and even becoming fatal. I experienced this firsthand when my grandfather passed away after a fall. Could we have prevented it? Perhaps not, but ever since, I’ve been deeply troubled whenever I hear of someone over 60 or 70 taking a fall.

Two teenagers, Rahi Shah and Hriday Boriawala, share similar worries. Rahi’s grandmother suffers from hip osteoporosis, and Hriday’s grandmother had a knee replacement a few years ago. Both grandmothers, due to their age and health conditions, face an increased risk of falling.

Both Class 12 students from Mumbai, passionate about robotics, electronics, and coding, applied their knowledge to develop an innovative walking stick aimed at preventing falls — a common concern among the elderly and those with conditions like osteoporosis.

They kept brainstorming and found the perfect opportunity to bring their solution to life during a STEM competition in 2022. They asked themselves: “Could we create a preventative tool that would anticipate the risk of falls and alert caregivers in time?”

Over the course of two years, the 18-year-olds dedicated themselves to developing Walkfit — a system that attaches to a walking stick to assist with gait analysis and diagnose lower limb orthopaedic disorders. The teenagers utilised robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) skills they honed at Omotec (On My Own Technology).

Rahi and Hriday have won many accolades, emerging as runner-ups at the IIT Bombay Techfest and securing a provisional patent for their innovation.

Here’s how Walkfit can help elders with mobility issues.

From Lego to real robots

Rahi and Hriday’s interest in robotics received a fillip when their school, Podar International, started a robotics lab in 2019. Then just 12, the duo participated in a competition, that cemented their passion for the subject. To further their interest, they joined Omotec and did a course in Python, a programming language. Over the past five years, they’ve done various courses in robotics, coding, electronics and STEM.

“We started with basic Lego robots to creating industrial products. We’ve been learning about electronics and coding, and participating in various national competitions where we can use our knowledge practically,” Rahi tells The Better India.

The IRIS (Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM) National Fair was the proverbial game changer for these young innovators. After enrolling for the same in 2022, they were challenged to create a working prototype for a topic they chose.

“There were no limits to what we could create. We wanted to build something that would be genuinely useful to our families. Since both of our grandmothers had mobility issues, we focused on developing a solution for elders like them to help prevent falls. If we had known about her condition earlier, we might have been able to address it more effectively,” shares Hriday.

These experiences ignited the students’ desire to create a device that could offer early detection of mobility issues, potentially preventing severe health complications down the line. Intense brainstorming sessions followed, where wheelchairs, walking sticks and more were discussed. “Should it be a foldable walking stick, a single cane?” they thought.

Initially, they focused on creating a stick that would analyse falls and provide a diagnosis. However, prohibitive costs forced them to rethink their approach. Since most seniors with gait issues already use a walking stick, they decided to develop a system that could be easily attached to any existing one.

“The product is a circuit, an attachment that can be fitted onto any stick,” says Rahi. They spent about three months on research and designing their circuit with the help of their mentors at Omotec. Over the next two years, they went through three prototypes and designs before coming up with their final retrofitted model in January 2024.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) report states that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. It states that adults older than 60 years of age suffer the greatest number of fatal falls and 37.3 million falls every year require medical attention.

Walkfit aims to be a preventive strategy for this massive problem. The duo worked with physiotherapists to understand the biomechanics of falls.

Dr Meghavi Desai Bhuptani, one of the physiotherapists who helped the students, says that the device can be very helpful for people who lack stability. “Osteoarthritis, caused due to wear and tear of your joints sets in after an age for almost everyone. We tend to recommend assistive devices for many such people post 70 or so to deal with imbalance. The mapping done by Walkfit can help users improve their gait and prevent falls. It will also be very useful for people who have suffered a stroke or have Parkinson’s disease,” she says.

Preventing falls through tech

Walkfit comes with six pressure sensors, which are strategically placed on the stick, with two on the grip and four on the base. The system analyses the pressure exerted on the stick, allowing it to determine the user’s dependency on it. It can help diagnose potential health issues based on the pressure patterns detected.

“By analysing pressure values, we assess how dependent the user is on the stick. A high level of dependence indicates a greater risk of falling. We measure how much of the user’s weight is being supported by the stick; based on that, we predict the likelihood of a fall and help diagnose potential problems or underlying conditions,” explains Rahi.

The circuit, equipped with Bluetooth modules, transmits data to a laptop, generating real-time heat maps. These heat maps actually show which pressure points on the stick are bearing the most weight, giving an insight into what the problem could be, or what the chances of fall can be.

These heat maps visually represent pressure points, with blue indicating low pressure and red indicating high pressure.

Giving an example, the students say that if the map shows high pressure on the left side, there is a probability that the user has a problem with the right knee or ankle. “Generally, when you have a problem, you tend to put less weight on that area, so that it pains less. You tilt more towards the opposite side, and hence the left side, which shows the highest pressure,” they explain.

The students plan to develop a mobile app in the future to make this data more accessible to users. “Many elders have lower body issues like osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, buckling knees, and hip fractures. Our device can predict falls in both standing and sitting positions. It detects stability in a person’s gait and changes in balance,” says Hriday.

The values from the Force Sensitive Resistors (FSR) and gyro sensors generate a heat map, which uses the weight-bearing tendencies of a user which differs according to age and illness. “The attached circuit gives data to measure movement. It reads the amount of pressure due to weight-bearing capacity and discretional tilt based on personal parameters already entered. Based on this information, the device gives an early signal to prevent falls,” explains Reetu Jain, chief-mentor and founder of Omotec.

The students now hope to fine-tune their invention and connect the device to an app. In a day and age when most seniors stay alone, it would be useful to alert their children or caregivers who stay far away by detecting problems early. It also has uses for doctors to monitor patients with known mobility issues. The device can monitor a patient’s condition, providing insights into their risk of falling and the effectiveness of their current treatment.

Rahi and Hriday first tested the prototype on their grandparents, post which they tested it on 50 senior citizens living in old age homes. The physiotherapists validated their results.

Their efforts have not gone unnoticed — they qualified for the the IIT Tech Fest, IRIS National Fair, and the World STEM and Robotics Olympiad (WSRO) where they won the International Judges Choice award.

The device will be priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, much lesser than current diagnostic tools.

For these young innovators, the project is not just about innovation — it’s about making a tangible difference in people’s lives. They want to prevent other grandparents from facing the issues as theirs did.

Edited by Pranita Bhat, Images Courtesy Rahi Shah