Impedance Control for Ankle Preparation Phase in BALANSens Platform

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Biomechanics
• Robotics

Background:

• Ankle injuries and musculoskeletal disorders require extensive rehabilitation for mobility and balance restoration.
• The BALANSens robotic platform integrates ankle, balance, and stepping therapies within the Integrated Balance Rehabilitation (I-BAR) framework.
• Active rehabilitation exercises necessitate precise control of human-robot interaction dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement affordable impedance control on the BALANSens robotic platform for active rehabilitation.
• To replace costly six-axis force sensors with an alternative using multiple load cells.
• To leverage load cells for measuring ankle joint torques and foot pressure distribution.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of joint space impedance control tailored for the BALANSens platform.
• Integration and utilization of multiple load cells for force and pressure measurements.
• Evaluation of the implemented impedance control system in a real hardware environment.

Main Results:

• Successful implementation of impedance control using affordable load cells on the BALANSens platform.
• Load cells effectively measured ankle joint torques and captured foot pressure distribution data.
• The system demonstrated suitability for active rehabilitation exercises, providing enhanced assessment data.

Conclusions:

• The proposed load cell-based impedance control offers a cost-effective solution for robotic-assisted ankle rehabilitation.
• This approach enhances the scope of patient assessment by incorporating foot pressure data.
• The BALANSens platform with impedance control shows significant promise for improving active rehabilitation strategies.