Dynamic trajectory adjustment of lower limb exoskeleton in swing phase based on impedance control strategy

The lower limb exoskeleton provides assistance by following the lower limb joints’ desired motion trajectory. However, angle control is not enough to meet the requirements in some special circumstances such as encountering obstacles. In the swing phase of the attached leg with the exoskeleton, there is a different contact force between the sole and the road surface in different road conditions. Therefore, it is particularly important to control the joint angle and contact force simultaneously, that is, it is not only necessary to follow the desired angle but also to minimize the influence of external contact force. In this article, a novel scheme is proposed to adjust the trajectory dynamically in the swing phase. First of all, the physical model is streamlined and the Lagrangian principle is carried out to dynamic analysis and established a model of lower limb exoskeleton in the swing phase. Furthermore, the angle dynamics equation is transformed into a Cartesian coordinate system to calculate the end contact force for the impedance model. Finally, the impedance control strategy together with a disturbance observer is designed which is suitable for nonlinear and strong coupling characteristics. The simulation result shows that the control system can follow the angle accurately in the condition of minimizing external constraints. Hardware experiment shows that lower extremity exoskeleton can adjust motion trajectory actively when encountering obstacles and complete the movement trajectory tracking at the same time.