DocumentCode :
249913
Title :
Lower body exoskeleton-supported compliant bipedal walking for paraplegics: How to reduce upper body effort?
Author :
Ugurlu, Barkan ; Oshima, Hirotaka ; Narikiyo, Tatsuo
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Brain Robot Interface, Adv. Telecommun. Res. Inst. Int. (ATR), Kyoto, Japan
fYear :
2014
fDate :
May 31 2014-June 7 2014
Firstpage :
1354
Lastpage :
1360
Abstract :
This paper introduces a position-based compliance control algorithm that can be implemented in a lower extremity exoskeleton-supported paraplegia walking task, in which upper body has to be utilized to maintain the overall balance. In order to reduce the upper body effort required during the task, the controller is designated to be capable of managing the position/force trade-off in conjunction with an active admittance regulator scheme. In the case of no force errors, the controller prioritizes position tracking in a way to achieve walking support. Once the force error increases (e.g., ground reaction force peaks, unexpected disturbances, stepping on an object, etc.) the position reference is updated in accordance with the force constraints and active admittance characteristics. By the virtue of this strategy, the human-robot system exhibits enhanced environmental interaction capabilities; therefore, the subject can maintain the overall balance with relatively less upper body effort while walking. Implementing the proposed method, we conducted robot-assisted walking experiments on 4 able-bodied subjects with different body mass index levels and genders. Subjects were instructed to be in passive mode. In addition, walking with severe obstacles was also experimented on a single able-bodied subject. In conclusion, the proposed method enabled us to yield enhanced walking performance comparing to classical rigid position control scheme; indicating that it could potentially introduce a compliant locomotion control alternative for the paraplegia walking support task with a comparatively less amount of upper body effort requirements.
Keywords :
compliance control; human-robot interaction; legged locomotion; medical control systems; position control; able-bodied subjects; classical rigid position control scheme; compliant locomotion control; environmental interaction; human-robot system; lower body exoskeleton-supported compliant bipedal walking; paraplegia walking support task; paraplegics; position-based compliance control algorithm; robot-assisted walking experiments; Admittance; Exoskeletons; Foot; Force; Joints; Legged locomotion;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2014 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Hong Kong
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907028
Filename :
6907028
Link To Document :
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