On the Control and Stability of Robots Worn by Human: Experiments

The work presented here is focused on the issues related to the dynamics and control in human/machine interaction in the sense of transfer of power and information signals. The extender is defined as an active manipulator worn by a human to increase the "strength" of the human wearing it (Part I). The human body, in physical contact with the extender, exchanges information signals and power with the extender. The dynamic model of the extender system consists of three main parts: the human arm, the extender, and the environment. A single-degree-of-freedom hydraulic extender has been designed and built for experimental verification of the stability and performance criteria. The trade-off between the performance and stability is discussed where we show that the more performance (larger force amplification) required, the narrower the stability range will be.