Switch-based Independent Antagonist Actuation with a Single Motor for a Soft Exosuit

The use of a cable-driven soft exosuit poses challenges with regards to the mechanical design of the actuation system, particularly when used for actuation along multiple degrees of freedom (DoF). The simplest general solution requires the use of two actuators to be capable of inducing movement along one DoF. However, this solution is not practical for the development of multi-joint exosuits. Reducing the number of actuators is a critical need in multi-DoF exosuits. We propose a switch-based mechanism to control an antagonist pair of cables such that it can actuate along any cable path geometry. The results showed that 298.24ms was needed for switching between cables. While this latency is relatively large, it can reduced in the future by a better choice of the motor used for actuation.Clinical relevance- This work proposes a simplified mechanism to generalise the design of soft exosuits and exo-gloves. The mechanism will result in a generalisable exoskeleton platform for at-home and hospital-based rehab and assistive applications.