An exoskeleton for gait rehabilitation: Prototype design and control principle

Beyl, Pieter; Damme, Michaël Van; Ham, Ronald Van; Versluys, Rino; Vanderborght, Bram; Lefeber, Dirk

doi:10.1109/robot.2008.4543506

Cited by 43 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The actuation system has been designed in view of zero up to full support of human knee joint function during treadmill walking. For a detailed description of the design procedure, the reader is referred to [11], [12]. The device allows for knee flexion angles up to 90 • and peak extension and flexion torques of 70Nm and 60Nm respectively.…”

Section: A Mechanical Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safe and compliant guidance in robot-assisted gait rehabilitation using Proxy-based Sliding Mode Control

Beyl

Damme

Cherelle

et al. 2009

2009 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics

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Research in robot-assisted gait rehabilitation has seen significant improvements in human-robot interaction, thanks to high performance actuator technologies and dedicated control strategies. In this context we propose a combination of lightweight, intrinsically compliant, high power actuators (Pleated Pneumatic Artificial Muscles, PPAMs) with safe and adaptable guidance along a trajectory by means of Proxy-based Sliding Mode Control (PSMC). Treadmill walking experiments performed by a healthy subject wearing a powered knee exoskeleton indicate two main challenges: synchronizing the compliant device and the subject, and tuning the control parameters in view of safe guidance. The exoskeleton is able to compliantly guide the test person's knee along various target trajectories, while ensuring a smooth response to large perturbations.

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Section: A Mechanical Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safe and compliant guidance in robot-assisted gait rehabilitation using Proxy-based Sliding Mode Control

Beyl

Damme

Cherelle

et al. 2009

2009 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics

Self Cite

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“…Orthoses, on the other hand, are shells made of plastic or other orthopaedic materials, potentially tailored on the user's limb, which are connected with the link of the robot. Orthotic shells, which have been also used in upper- and lower-limb devices [21–29], have the advantage of distributing the interaction evenly on a wide skin area, increasing the comfort and reducing the pain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Flexible Sensor Technology for the Distributed Measurement of Interaction Pressure

Donati

Vitiello

Rossi

et al. 2013

Sensors

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We present a sensor technology for the measure of the physical human-robot interaction pressure developed in the last years at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. The system is composed of flexible matrices of opto-electronic sensors covered by a soft silicone cover. This sensory system is completely modular and scalable, allowing one to cover areas of any sizes and shapes, and to measure different pressure ranges. In this work we present the main application areas for this technology. A first generation of the system was used to monitor human-robot interaction in upper- (NEUROExos; Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna) and lower-limb (LOPES; University of Twente) exoskeletons for rehabilitation. A second generation, with increased resolution and wireless connection, was used to develop a pressure-sensitive foot insole and an improved human-robot interaction measurement systems. The experimental characterization of the latter system along with its validation on three healthy subjects is presented here for the first time. A perspective on future uses and development of the technology is finally drafted.

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“…To satisfy the first requirement we introduce mechanical compliance in the actuation unit of the exoskeleton which decouples the inertia of the motor from the output link to effectively reduce the output mechanical impedance [5]. Additionally, the introduction of elasticity improves the robot's ability to intrinsically absorb impacts and when combined with dedicated control strategies it can be beneficial for the physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tele-Impedance based stiffness and motion augmentation for a knee exoskeleton device

Karavas

Ajoudani

Tsagarakis

et al. 2013

2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation

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In this paper, a knee exoskeleton device and its Tele-Impedance based assistive control scheme is presented. The exoskeleton device is an inherently compliant actuated system that was implemented based on the series elastic actuation (SEA) to provide improved and intrinsically soft interaction behaviour. Details of the exoskeleton design are presented. A detailed musculoskeletal model was developed and experimentally identified in order to map electromyographic signals to the antagonistic muscle torques, acting on the human knee joint. The estimated muscle torques are used in order to determine the user's intent and joint stiffness trend. These reference signals are exploited by a novel Tele-Impedance controller which is applied to a knee exoskeleton device to provide assistance and stiffness augmentation to the user's knee joint. Experimental trials of a standing-up motion task were carried out for evaluation of the proposed control strategy. The results indicate that the proposed knee exoskeleton device and control scheme can effectively generate assistive actions that are intrinsically and naturally controlled by the user muscle activity.

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An exoskeleton for gait rehabilitation: Prototype design and control principle

Cited by 43 publications

References 17 publications

Safe and compliant guidance in robot-assisted gait rehabilitation using Proxy-based Sliding Mode Control

Safe and compliant guidance in robot-assisted gait rehabilitation using Proxy-based Sliding Mode Control

A Flexible Sensor Technology for the Distributed Measurement of Interaction Pressure

Tele-Impedance based stiffness and motion augmentation for a knee exoskeleton device

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