Patent ID: 8915968

Claim:
A method for controlling a motorized prosthetic or orthotic device (POD) of a user, wherein the POD comprises a thigh segment including a joint member and a shank segment coupled with the thigh segment via the joint member, the method comprising: receiving acceleration signals corresponding to acceleration along three orthogonal axes from one or more accelerometers coupled to the POD; determining a difference between a first absolute angle of the thigh segment at a foot-off event and a second absolute angle of the thigh segment at a foot strike event; determining a relative vertical displacement of the POD between the foot-off event and the foot strike event based at least on a combination of a double integration of the acceleration signals, the first absolute angle of the thigh segment, and the second absolute angle of the thigh segment; determining a current type of locomotion of the user based on the determined relative vertical displacement; and transmitting information relating to the current type of locomotion to an actuator control.