Exo-muscle：膝関節用の半剛体支援デバイス
Exo-muscle: A semi-rigid assistive device for the knee
剛体とソフトの中間である半剛体原理を採用し、膝関節の回転中心とのずれを防ぎつつ腱の経路を安定させた支援デバイスを開発し、最大38Nmの支援トルクを実現した。
著者: Yifang Zhang, Arash Ajoudani, Nikos G Tsagarakis
分類: cs.RO
原文アブストラクト
In this work, we introduce the principle, design and mechatronics of Exo-Muscle, a novel assistive device for the knee joint. Different from the existing systems based on rigid exoskeleton structures or soft-tendon driven approaches, the proposed device leverages a new semi-rigid principle that explores the benefits of both rigid and soft systems. The use of a novel semi-rigid chain mechanism around the knee joint eliminates the presence of misalignment between the device and the knee joint center of rotation, while at the same time, it forms a well-defined route for the tendon. This results in more deterministic load compensation functionality compared to the fully soft systems. The proposed device can provide up to 38Nm assistive torque to the knee joint. In the experiment section, the device was successfully validated through a series of experiments demonstrating the capacity of the device to provide the target assistive functionality in the knee joint.
