Improving transparency of powered exoskeletons using force/torque sensors on the supporting cuffs

Damiano Zanotto, Tommaso Lenzi, Paul Stegall, Sunil K. Agrawal

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

Most of the control strategies embedded in recent robotic exoskeletons for rehabilitation and assistance are specific implementations of the well-known 'assistance as needed' paradigm. A key point in the design of these systems is the requirement for the robot to exert negligible interaction forces to the wearer if he/she is performing well. Optimizing transparency of a device is a challenging task: various strategies have been proposed to achieve this goal, involving both the mechanical structure of the robot and the control algorithms. In this work, we propose a simple yet effective approach that requires minimal redesign efforts in the robotic structure and in the controller to be implemented on existing devices. We experimentally validate the method by comparing kinematic, kinetic and electromyo-graphic data collected from 3 healthy subjects as they walked in three different conditions: free treadmill walking, walking in a robotic trainer with a traditional zero-impedance configuration and walking in the same robot with the new zero-impedance configuration. Results show that the novel configuration was capable of effectively reducing the interaction forces and, as a consequence, it affected subjects' natural gait less than the traditional one did.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2013 IEEE 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, ICORR 2013
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event2013 IEEE 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, ICORR 2013 - Seattle, WA, United States
Duration: 24 Jun 201326 Jun 2013

Publication series

NameIEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics
ISSN (Print)1945-7898
ISSN (Electronic)1945-7901

Conference

Conference2013 IEEE 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, ICORR 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySeattle, WA
Period24/06/1326/06/13

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