Analysis of parallel mechanism for human hip joint power assist

In this paper, we focus on a 6-DOF parallel mechanism which is for human hip joint power assist. Different from the conventional power assist system, the proposed human hip joint assisting mechanism is formed as parallel mechanism. Considering the anatomical mechanism of human hip joint, the 6-DOF assisting system consists of three serial chains, and each chain is a UPS model, so the parallel mechanism is a 3-UPS model. Based on the analysis the direct kinematic Jacobian of the parallel mechanism and human thigh, such a parallel mechanism design could be effectively used to hip joint power assist. This parallel assisting mechanism could be used for human thigh movement assisting, rehabilitation and movement information acquiring.