E-BAR Will Be There to Catch You When You Fall — or Just to Help with Your Mobility
Usable as a walker, to help sit or stand, to lift you in or out of the tub, and even to catch you when you fall, E-BAR is a flexible friend.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Department of Mechanical Engineering are looking to take some of the strain out of aging — with a harness-free assistive robot system dubbed E-BAR.
"Many older adults underestimate the risk of fall and refuse to use physical aids, which are cumbersome, while others overestimate the risk and may not to exercise, leading to declining mobility," explains senior author Harry Asada, professor of engineering, of the problem E-BAR is designed to solve. "Our design concept is to provide older adults having balance impairment with robotic handlebars for stabilizing their body. The handlebars go anywhere and provide support anytime, whenever they need."
The Elderly Body Assistance Robot, E-BAR, is designed to help with the needs of an ever-increasing elderly population: the number of people aged over 65 in the US is predicted to go from 58 million to day to 82 million by 2050, which brings with it rising care costs and a shortage of workers. While E-BAR can't do everything, it can certainly help with mobility: it can be used as a walker, follow a user to catch them in case of a fall with arm-mounted airbags to ensure a cushioned landing, and help them sit, stand, or even get into or out of the bathtub — lifting their entire body weight, if necessary.
"I think eldercare is the next great challenge," says first author Roberto Bolli, who designed the robot. "All the demographic trends point to a shortage of caregivers, a surplus of elderly persons, and a strong desire for elderly persons to age in place. We see it as an unexplored frontier in America, but also an intrinsically interesting challenge for robotics.
"Elderly people overwhelmingly do not like to wear harnesses or assistive devices," Bolli adds of a key feature to the robot. "The idea behind the E-BAR structure is, it provides body weight support, active assistance with gait, and fall catching while also being completely unobstructed in the front. You can just get out anytime." This, the pair claim, makes E-BAR unique — being the first robot capable of catching a falling person without the need for wearable devices or a harness.
A paper on the robot is available through the DSpace@MIT library under open-access terms, ahead of its presentation at the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation later this month.