Sensing interfaces for human-robot interaction: a scoping review for robotic walkers

Purpose: This scoping review examines sensing interfaces for human-robot interaction in robotic walkers in response to the growing demand for advanced assistive technologies. Although research on robotic walkers has expanded significantly, existing reviews often position these systems within broader categories of walking-assist robots or emphasise mechanical and control aspects, providing limited synthesis on how sensing interfaces mediate interaction between the user, the robot and the environment. Materials and Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines, systematic searches were conducted across the Web of Science, IEEE Xplore and PubMed databases, yielding 80 eligible studies published between January 2020 and July 2025. The included works were categorised into four thematic domains: (i) interfaces for user intent and adaptive assistance, (ii) clinical assessment and health monitoring, (iii) safety, obstacle avoidance and contextual awareness and (iv) localisation support. Results: Analysis highlights that force-based interaction and kinematic gait monitoring form the baseline for adaptive assistance, while revealing an evolution from simple geometric detection towards socially aware navigation. Finally, this review identifies a discrepancy in clinical validation, by quantifying that only 25% of the research involves the target population. Conclusion: These findings offer an updated perspective on the role of sensing technologies, suggesting that the evolution of robotic walkers into reliable mobility partners depends on the intelligent fusion of multimodal sensor data to achieve systems that are robust and centred on user needs.