scholarly journals IKO: A Five Actuated DoF Upper Limb Exoskeleton Oriented to Workplace Assistance

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Martinez ◽  
Aron Pujana-Arrese ◽  
Iban Retolaza ◽  
Irantzu Sacristan ◽  
Jon Basurko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Power Transmission ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Dynamic Performance ◽  
Relative Displacement ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Upper Limb Exoskeleton ◽  
Reachable Workspace ◽  
Human Arm

IKerlan’s Orthosis (IKO) is an upper limb exoskeleton oriented to increasing human force during routine activity at the workplace. Therefore, it can be considered as a force-amplification device conceived to work in collaboration with the human arm and implementing biomimetic principles. The aim of the proposed design is to find the best compromise between maximum reachable workspace and minimum moving mass, which are the key factors for obtaining an ergonomic, wearable exoskeleton. It consists of five actuated degree of freedom (DoF) to move the human arm and three non-actuated DoF between the back and shoulder to allow relative displacement of the sterno-clavicular joint. Conventional electrical motors are used for most of the DoF and pneumatic muscles for one of them (forearm rotation). Power transmission is based on Bowden cables. This paper presents the IKO design, the mechanical structure of a first prototype and the redesign process from an aesthetic point of view. Controller set-up and control strategies are also shown, together with dynamic performance from experimental results.

Redundancy Resolution of the Human Arm and an Upper Limb Exoskeleton

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1770-1779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunchul Kim ◽  
Levi Makaio Miller ◽  
Nancy Byl ◽  
G. Abrams ◽  
J. Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Redundancy Resolution ◽  
Upper Limb Exoskeleton ◽  
Human Arm

scholarly journals An innovative equivalent kinematic model of the human upper limb to improve the trajectory planning of exoskeleton rehabilitation robots

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 661-675
Author(s):  
Qiaolian Xie ◽  
Qiaoling Meng ◽  
Qingxin Zeng ◽  
Hongliu Yu ◽  
Zhijia Shen
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Trajectory Planning ◽  
Wrist Joint ◽  
Kinematic Model ◽  
Human Motion ◽  
Upper Limb Exoskeleton ◽  
Rehabilitation Robots ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Human Arm ◽  
Human Upper Limb

Abstract. Upper limb exoskeleton rehabilitation robots have been attracting significant attention by researchers due to their adaptive training, highly repetitive motion, and ability to enhance the self-care capabilities of patients with disabilities. It is a key problem that the existing upper limb exoskeletons cannot stay in line with the corresponding human arm during exercise. The aim is to evaluate whether the existing upper limb exoskeleton movement is in line with the human movement and to provide a design basis for the future exoskeleton. This paper proposes a new equivalent kinematic model for human upper limb, including the shoulder joint, elbow joint, and wrist joint, according to the human anatomical structure and sports biomechanical characteristics. And this paper analyzes the motion space according to the normal range of motion of joints for building the workspace of the proposed model. Then, the trajectory planning for an upper limb exoskeleton is evaluated and improved based on the proposed model. The evaluation results show that there were obvious differences between the exoskeleton prototype and human arm. The deviation between the human body and the exoskeleton of the improved trajectory is decreased to 41.64 %. In conclusion, the new equivalent kinematics model for the human upper limb proposed in this paper can effectively evaluate the existing upper limb exoskeleton and provide suggestions for structural improvements in line with human motion.

A novel human-robot interface based on soft skin sensor designed for the upper-limb exoskeleton

2021 ◽  
pp. 095440622110358
Author(s):  
Zhirui Zhao ◽  
Xing Li ◽  
Mingfang Liu ◽  
Xingchen Li ◽  
Haoze Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Upper Limb Exoskeleton ◽  
Interaction Control ◽  
Human Arm ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Arm Motion ◽  
Robot Cooperation ◽  
Arm Strength

The upper-limb exoskeleton is capable of enhancing human arm strength beyond normal levels, whereas deriving the operator’s desired action straightforward turns out to be one of the significant difficulties facing human-robot interaction research. In the study, the human-robot interface was presented to regulate the exoskeleton tracking human elbow motion trajectory that employed the contact force signals between the exoskeleton and its operator as the primary means of information transportation. The signals were recorded by adopting the novel soft skin sensors attached to the bracket on the exoskeleton linkage, which could reflect the human arm motion intention through the virtual admittance model and adaptive control. Subsequently, a 1-DOF upper-limb exoskeleton was designed to illustrate the performance of the proposed sensor and the interaction control method in the human-robot cooperation experiment.

scholarly journals Vision System-Based Design and Assessment of a Novel Shoulder Joint Mechanism for an Enhanced Workspace Upper Limb Exoskeleton

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Piña-Martínez ◽  
Ricardo Roberts ◽  
Salvador Leal-Merlo ◽  
Ernesto Rodriguez-Leal
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Shoulder Joint ◽  
Motion Tracking ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Upper Limb Exoskeleton ◽  
Reachable Workspace ◽  
Dimensional Parameters ◽  
Motion Tracking System

Exoskeletons arise as the common ground between robotics and biomechanics, where rehabilitation is the main field in which these two disciplines find cohesion. One of the most relevant challenges in upper limb exoskeleton design relies in the high complexity of the human shoulder, where current devices implement elaborate systems only to emulate the drifting center of rotation of the shoulder joint. This paper proposes the use of 3D scanning vision technologies to ease the design process and its implementation on a variety of subjects, while a motion tracking system based on vision technologies is applied to assess the exoskeleton reachable workspace compared with an asymptomatic subject. Furthermore, the anatomic fitting index is proposed, which compares the anatomic workspace of the user with the exoskeleton workspace and provides insight into its features. This work proposes an exoskeleton architecture that considers the clavicle motion over the coronal plane whose workspace is determined by substituting the direct kinematics model with the dimensional parameters of the user. Simulations and numerical examples are used to validate the analytical results and to conciliate the experimental results provided by the vision tracking system.

Design and evaluation of a parallel cable-driven shoulder mechanism with series springs

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Pengpeng Xu ◽  
Juncheng Li ◽  
Shuoyu Li ◽  
Dan Xia ◽  
Ziniu Zeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Power Transmission ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Compact Structure ◽  
Squeeze Pressure ◽  
Upper Limb Rehabilitation ◽  
Upper Limb Exoskeleton ◽  
The Stability

Abstract Upper limb paralysis and movement disorders resulting from neurologic injuries can be treated with an upper limb exoskeleton robot that assists with movement retraining. Cable-driven exoskeletons have been widely studied because of their lightness, compact structure, low cost, and long-distance power transmission. However, the problems of shoulder squeeze force and system stability have not been solved. In this article, we present a prototype parallel cable-driven shoulder mechanism with series springs. The theoretical analysis suggests that the stability of the mechanism is improved compared with that of the previous mechanism, and the effects of stiffness, upper limb weight, and mechanism parameters on the shoulder joint extrusion pressure are analyzed by simulation and experimental results. The results show that this mechanism plays an important role in reducing or eliminating the shoulder squeeze pressure and improving the stability of the mechanism. Moreover, the mechanism has good portability and can be combined with other exoskeletons to facilitate various robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation training.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document