Design of a Minimally Actuated Lower Limb Exoskeleton with Mechanical Joint Coupling

Li, Hui; Yu, Hongliu; Chen, Yingwei; Xin-yi, Tang; Wang, Duojin; Meng, Qiaoling; Du, Qing

doi:10.1007/s42235-021-00146-0

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Nevertheless, balance and fall prediction can be evaluated with wearable sensors such as IMUs, and the results may also be transferable to exoskeletons [ 89 , 90 ]. Some exoskeletons already are being prepared or systems for exoskeletons are being developed to measure stability for control purposes [ 91 , 92 ]. Thus, more research is needed that uses exoskeletons to assess a broad range of motor performance variables, including balance which is associated with risk of falling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Lower Limb Exoskeletons as an Assessment Tool for Human Motor Performance: A Systematic Review

Moeller

Moehler

Krell‐Roesch

et al. 2023

Sensors

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Exoskeletons are a promising tool to support individuals with a decreased level of motor performance. Due to their built-in sensors, exoskeletons offer the possibility of continuously recording and assessing user data, for example, related to motor performance. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of studies that rely on using exoskeletons to measure motor performance. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review, following the PRISMA Statement guidelines. A total of 49 studies using lower limb exoskeletons for the assessment of human motor performance were included. Of these, 19 studies were validity studies, and six were reliability studies. We found 33 different exoskeletons; seven can be considered stationary, and 26 were mobile exoskeletons. The majority of the studies measured parameters such as range of motion, muscle strength, gait parameters, spasticity, and proprioception. We conclude that exoskeletons can be used to measure a wide range of motor performance parameters through built-in sensors, and seem to be more objective and specific than manual test procedures. However, since these parameters are usually estimated from built-in sensor data, the quality and specificity of an exoskeleton to assess certain motor performance parameters must be examined before an exoskeleton can be used, for example, in a research or clinical setting.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Lower Limb Exoskeletons as an Assessment Tool for Human Motor Performance: A Systematic Review

Moeller

Moehler

Krell‐Roesch

et al. 2023

Sensors

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“…Moment of inertia of the double-diameter fixed pulley ( 1 J ) 1.52 kg(mm) 2 Mass of the movable pulley ( 1 m ) 2.56 g Damping coefficients of SMA wires ( 1 b , 2 b ) 2…”

Section: Position Step Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their primary objective is to mimic the rotational motion and flexibility inherent in human and animal joints through the integration of mechanical structures, actuators, transmission methods, sensors, and controllers. Bionic joints can be categorized into several groups based on their actuators: electric motors [1,2], hydraulic actuators [3][4][5], pneumatic actuators [6][7][8], and smart material actuators (such as piezoelectric actuators [9][10][11][12], electroactive polymer actuators [13][14][15], shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators [16][17][18][19][20], and twisted and coiled polymer actuators [20,21]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Position Control of a Bionic Joint Actuated by Shape Memory Alloy Wires

Zhu,

Jia,

Niu

et al. 2024

Biomimetics

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Bionic joints are crucial for robotic motion and are a hot topic in robotics research. Among various actuators for joints, shape memory alloys (SMAs) have attracted significant interest due to their similarity to natural muscles. SMA exhibits the shape memory effect (SME) based on martensite-to-austenite transformation and its inverse, which allows for force and displacement output through low-voltage heating. However, one of the main challenges with SMA is its limited axial stroke. In this article, a bionic joint based on SMA wires and a differential pulley set structure was proposed. The axial stroke of the SMA wires was converted into rotational motion by the stroke amplification of the differential pulley set, enabling the joint to rotate by a sufficient angle. We modeled the bionic joint and designed a proportional–integral (PI) controller. We demonstrated that the bionic joint exhibited good position control performance, achieving a rotation angle range of −30° to 30°. The proposed bionic joint, utilizing SMA wires and a differential pulley set, offers an innovative solution for enhancing the range of motion in SMA actuated bionic joints.

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“…The active lower limb model proved to be an alternative that compensate the lack of knee torque and driving forces. The notable Lower limb models that mainly focuses on gait assistance 73–87 and assistance to spinal cord injury 88–90 by offering support during squat, walking on slopes, turning, stairs climbing, etc., that include, HALEX 91 as shown in Figure 4 is a 4-DOF exoskeleton 92 with custom-made gearbox assembly to assist humans with 90% and weighing up to 100 kg, an electrically powered lower limb exo-skeleton 93 created which had motor function for knee like the iT-KNEE 94 and elastic joints for other joints. A modular approach 82 involving a cluster of actuator and spring coupled module is developed to create an exemplary system.…”

Section: Exo-skeleton For Medical Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

Exo skeleton pertinence and control techniques: A state-of-the-art review

Rangan R,

Babu S

2024

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C:

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Exo-Skeleton is a wearable robotic device which was emerged in later 1960s that has a multitude of applications ranging from weightlifting to wearer’s stability improvement. This paper makes a novel approach in reviewing the various exo-skeleton models that are available at the present. The idea of this paper is to study and compare the models in terms of medical applicability like gait rehabilitation, physiotherapy, human strength augmentation, various control strategies of exo-skeleton, ergonomic study, and need for exo-skeleton system for enhancing the life of humans. Since exo-skeletons are wearable devices, it requires precise controlling of the actuators and repeatability, and accuracy plays a vital role. The paper elucidated with a detailed analysis, reviewed and summarized the core essence of 300 research papers and patents in the field of exo-skeleton with the aforesaid aspects of application and drive system with their control methodologies from 2007 to 2022 and shown a trend with year-wise data from which it is clear that the future of industrial work will become a collaborative activity involving the exo-skeleton system with human labours. Human – robot interaction is vital and must for enabling an integration which can be achieved with the amelioration in the control and actuation techniques for precise control. With the furtherance in the technology the exo-skeletons can be purpose built that can be of rigid or flexible structures with active, passive, or quasi-passive controls based on the user needs. Joint handed operation of Exo-skeleton with the alternative treatment methodologies will yield a plethora of benefits in the near future in comparison with the present conventional treatment modes that could result in reduction of surgeries.

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Design of a Minimally Actuated Lower Limb Exoskeleton with Mechanical Joint Coupling

Cited by 10 publications

References 30 publications

Use of Lower Limb Exoskeletons as an Assessment Tool for Human Motor Performance: A Systematic Review

Use of Lower Limb Exoskeletons as an Assessment Tool for Human Motor Performance: A Systematic Review

Design and Position Control of a Bionic Joint Actuated by Shape Memory Alloy Wires

Exo skeleton pertinence and control techniques: A state-of-the-art review

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