Development of a soft knee exosuit with twisted string actuators for stair climbing assistance

Zhao, Sikai; Yang, Yeqin; Gao, Yang; Zhang, Zongwei; Zheng, Tianjiao; Zhu, Yanhe

doi:10.1109/robio49542.2019.8961415

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Applicable to help the elderly go upstairs in ordinary living, a soft suit called Hitexosuit [ 70 ] played a crucial part in enhancing knee extension. Its twisted string actuator simulated muscle contraction to generate force, which could assist in propelling the body upwards at just the right moment.…”

Section: Overview Of Exosuitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Wearable Robots: Development Status and Technical Challenges

Shi

Dong

Lin

et al. 2022

Sensors

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In recent years, more and more research has begun to focus on the flexible and lightweight design of wearable robots. During this process, many novel concepts and achievements have been continuously made and shown to the public, while new problems have emerged at the same time, which need to be solved. In this paper, we give an overview of the development status of soft wearable robots for human movement assistance. On the basis of a clear definition, we perform a system classification according to the target assisted joint and attempt to describe the overall prototype design level in related fields. Additionally, it is necessary to sort out the latest research progress of key technologies such as structure, actuation, control and evaluation, thereby analyzing the design ideas and basic characteristics of them. Finally, we discuss the possible application fields, and propose the main challenges of this valuable research direction.

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Section: Overview Of Exosuitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Wearable Robots: Development Status and Technical Challenges

Shi

Dong

Lin

et al. 2022

Sensors

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“…Furthermore, if the webbing strap is highly tightened, the thigh cuff may rotate relative to the human thigh in the frontal plane. The frontal suspension system (C2) [31]- [33] implements a zonary structure along the anterior side of the hip. The foregoing structure will be slack during hip flexion, yet excessively tightened with hip extension.…”

Section: B Static Posturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another possible solution (see Fig. 1(b)) placed a zonary structure along the anterior side of the hip [31]- [33], while [31] applied a non-stretchable Nylon webbing belt and [32], [33] employed a tensile rubber band (applied in the Myosuit). In addition, Zhang et al utilized two webbing straps arranged along both the anterior and posterior side of the hip [34] (see Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Migration of Knee Exoskeletons With Dynamic Waist Strap

Zhou

Shao

et al. 2022

IEEE Trans. Med. Robot. Bionics

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Downward migration of knee exoskeletons under external forces is one major concern against their normal operations. It may be reduced by increasing the friction between exoskeletons and the human thigh. However, the effectiveness of friction control remains questionable, as the natural invertedcone shape of the human thigh will aggravate downward migration, and the overwhelming strapping intensity will degrade the activation level of muscles. In this paper, we propose a new suspension system called the Dynamic Waist Strap. Theoretical analysis and experimental validations on multiple subjects are conducted to show its advantages over the three mainstream suspension systems commonly used for knee exoskeletons in terms of the reduction of migration, interaction torque, and maximum dip angle. This study highlights the importance of the suspension system when attaching a knee exoskeleton to the human and introduces a new dynamic interaction interface to improve the coupling from a knee exoskeleton to an individual.

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“…Fulfilling such requirements is a challenging task in designing soft exoskeletons as they must deal with textile-related events like slippery of the fabrics, discrete perturbations from creases and seams, bad-fitting to the user anatomy and muscle volume changes during motion. Even though solutions on this regard lack consensus, there are three remarkable approaches for cable-driven systems: tangling cables around the body, force-compliant textile-design and study of the cable routing [39], [40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cable-Driven Exosuit for Upper Limb Flexion Based on Fibres Compliance

et al. 2020

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Flexible soft exoskeletons, so-called exosuits, are robotic devices that interact with their users to assist or enhance muscle performance. Their lightweight design and lack of rigid parts allow assisting the user's natural motion without any constraints. They are thereby valuable in carrying out daily labour tasks and performing active stances of rehabilitation. Nonetheless, the usage of these devices in long-term applications demands anatomically adaptive designs and mechanisms to tackle textile artefacts and discrepancies in the human constitution. The soft exoskeleton described in this article is a textile-wearable design that assists shoulder and elbow flexion. The cable-driven actuation is embedded in a jacket by using several textiles and deformable parts. The inconveniences of using textile such as slipping, dampening, and pressure sores are tackled by combining textile layers with force-compliant sewing. The design also includes pieces for cable guidance, anchoring and support. These parts employ different tailoring methods so as to ease fabrication, wearing and cleaning. The motors and electronics, whose design is compatible with textiles too, are placed in a backpack. This configuration reduces forces from loads in motion and weight on the arm. Finally, the last part of the document discusses the preliminary results that have been obtained from four subjects who have worn the device.

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Development of a soft knee exosuit with twisted string actuators for stair climbing assistance

Cited by 31 publications

References 20 publications

Soft Wearable Robots: Development Status and Technical Challenges

Soft Wearable Robots: Development Status and Technical Challenges

Reducing Migration of Knee Exoskeletons With Dynamic Waist Strap

A Cable-Driven Exosuit for Upper Limb Flexion Based on Fibres Compliance

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