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Hardware Circuits Design and Performance Evaluation of a Soft Lower Limb Exoskeleton
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems
|May 10, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a novel soft lower limb exoskeleton (LLE) with a scalable hardware circuit design. The developed soft LLE effectively improves walking efficiency, reducing metabolic cost and muscle activity.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Biomechanics
- Wearable Technology
Background:
- Soft lower limb exoskeletons (LLEs) show promise for gait rehabilitation and augmentation.
- Existing research primarily focuses on structural design and assistance force optimization, with limited attention to hardware circuit design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel soft LLE for enhancing walking efficiency.
- To introduce a scalable hardware circuit system for the soft LLE.
Main Methods:
- A soft LLE was designed for hip flexion assistance.
- A scalable hardware circuit system was developed.
- Experimental tests assessed sensor data acquisition, force tracking, muscle activity (EMG), and metabolic cost.
Main Results:
- The hardware circuits demonstrated effective sensor data acquisition and force tracking with a 1% time error in peak assistance force.
- A 7.1% reduction in normalized root-mean-square EMG of the rectus femoris was observed.
- Net metabolic cost was reduced by 7.8% when using the exoskeleton.
Conclusions:
- The designed hardware circuits are suitable for soft LLE applications.
- The developed soft LLE effectively improves wearer walking efficiency.
