Classification of Three Types of Walking Activities Regarding Stairs Using Plantar Pressure Sensors

In this letter, we propose a novel method for classifying ambulatory activities using eight plantar pressure sensors within smart shoes. Using these sensors, pressure data of participants can be collected regarding level walking, stair descent, and stair ascent. Analyzing patterns of the ambulatory activities, we present new features with which to describe the ambulatory activities. After selecting critical features, a multi-class support vector machine algorithm is applied to classify these activities. Applying the proposed method to the experimental database, we obtain recognition rates up to 95.2% after six steps.