Co-Ex: A Torque-Controllable Lower Body Exoskeleton for Dependable Human-Robot Co-existence

IEEE Int Conf Rehabil Robot. 2019 Jun:2019:605-610. doi: 10.1109/ICORR.2019.8779407.

Abstract

In this paper, we present our research study concerning the design and development of an exoskeleton that aims to provide 3D walking support with minimum number of actuators. Following a prior simulation study, the joint configuration was primarily determined. In order for the exoskeleton to possess advanced characteristics, the following design criteria were investigated: i) all the actuators (hip/knee/ankle) were deployed around the waist area to decrease leg weight and improve wearability, ii) custom-built series elastic actuators were used to power system for high fidelity torque-controllability, iii) 3D walking support is potentially enabled with reduced power requirements. As a result, we built the first actual prototype to experimentally verify the aforementioned design specifications. Furthermore, the preliminary torque control experiments indicated the viability of torque control.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Equipment Design*
  • Exoskeleton Device*
  • Humans
  • Lower Extremity / physiology*
  • Robotics*
  • Walking / physiology*