Ferris Daniel P, Lewis Cara L
School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2013 USA.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:2119-24. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5333984.
Robotic lower limb exoskeletons have been built for augmenting human performance, assisting with disabilities, studying human physiology, and re-training motor deficiencies. At the University of Michigan Human Neuromechanics Laboratory, we have built pneumatically-powered lower limb exoskeletons for the last two purposes. Most of our prior research has focused on ankle joint exoskeletons because of the large contribution from plantar flexors to the mechanical work performed during gait. One way we control the exoskeletons is with proportional myoelectric control, effectively increasing the strength of the wearer with a physiological mode of control. Healthy human subjects quickly adapt to walking with the robotic ankle exoskeletons, reducing their overall energy expenditure. Individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury have demonstrated rapid modification of muscle recruitment patterns with practice walking with the ankle exoskeletons. Evidence suggests that proportional myoelectric control may have distinct advantages over other types of control for robotic exoskeletons in basic science and rehabilitation.
机器人下肢外骨骼已被制造出来，用于增强人类机能、辅助残疾人、研究人体生理学以及重新训练运动缺陷。在密歇根大学人体神经力学实验室，我们出于后两个目的制造了气动驱动的下肢外骨骼。由于在步态中跖屈肌对机械功的贡献很大，我们之前的大部分研究都集中在踝关节外骨骼上。我们控制外骨骼的一种方法是比例肌电控制，通过一种生理控制模式有效地增强穿戴者的力量。健康的人类受试者能很快适应穿着机器人踝关节外骨骼行走，从而减少他们的总体能量消耗。不完全脊髓损伤的个体在穿着踝关节外骨骼练习行走时，已表现出肌肉募集模式的快速改变。有证据表明，在基础科学和康复领域，比例肌电控制相对于机器人外骨骼的其他类型控制可能具有明显优势。
