Department of Environment and Life Engineering, Maebashi Institute of Technology, 460-1 Kamisadori, Maebashi, Gunma 371-0816, Japan.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan.
Sensors (Basel). 2020 Nov 9;20(21):6379. doi: 10.3390/s20216379.
A power-assisted exoskeleton should be capable of reducing the burden on the wearer's body or rendering his or her work improved and efficient. More specifically, the exoskeleton should be easy to wear, be simple to use, and provide power assistance without hindering the wearer's movement. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the backdrivability, range of motion, and power-assist capability of such an exoskeleton. This evaluation identifies the pros and cons of the exoskeleton, and it serves as the basis for its subsequent development. In this study, a lightweight upper-limb power-assisted exoskeleton with high backdrivability was developed. Moreover, a motion capture system was adopted to measure and analyze the workspace of the wearer's upper limb after the exoskeleton was worn. The results were used to evaluate the exoskeleton's ability to support the wearer's movement. Furthermore, a small and compact three-axis force sensor was used for power assistance, and the effect of the power assistance was evaluated by means of measuring the wearer's surface electromyography, force, and joint angle signals. Overall, the study showed that the exoskeleton could achieve power assistance and did not affect the wearer's movements.
助力外骨骼应该能够减轻佩戴者身体的负担，或者使佩戴者的工作变得更加高效。更具体地说，外骨骼应该易于佩戴、易于使用，并且在不阻碍佩戴者运动的情况下提供动力辅助。因此，有必要评估这种外骨骼的背驱动力、运动范围和动力辅助能力。这种评估确定了外骨骼的优缺点，为其后续发展提供了依据。在这项研究中，开发了一种具有高背驱动力的轻型上肢助力外骨骼。此外，采用运动捕捉系统来测量和分析佩戴者上肢佩戴外骨骼后的工作空间。这些结果用于评估外骨骼支撑佩戴者运动的能力。此外，还使用了一个小巧紧凑的三轴力传感器进行动力辅助，并通过测量佩戴者的表面肌电图、力和关节角度信号来评估动力辅助的效果。总的来说，这项研究表明，外骨骼可以实现动力辅助，并且不会影响佩戴者的运动。
