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This paper presents the prototype of a novel tethered pelvic assist device (T-PAD). This is a purely passive device, consisting of a set of elastic tethers with one end attached to a hip brace worn by a subject walking on a treadmill, and the other end attached to a fixed frame surrounding the subject. T-PAD offers the flexibility of varying the assistance required on the pelvis by changing the configuration...
Compliant actuation contributes enormously in legged locomotion robotics since it is able to alleviate control efforts in improving the robot's adaptability and energy efficiency. In this paper, we present a novel design of a variable stiffness rotary actuator, called MESTRAN, which was especially targeted to address the limitations in terms of the amount of energy and time required to vary the stiffness...
This paper presents finite state control (FSC) of paraplegic walking with wheel walker using functional electrical stimulation (FES) with spring brake orthosis (SBO). The work is a first effort towards restoring natural like swing phase in paraplegic gait through a new hybrid orthosis, referred to as spring brake orthosis (SBO). This mechanism simplifies the control task and results in smooth motion...
Most humanoid robots walk with bent knees, which particularly requires high motor torques at knees and gives an unnatural walking manner. It is therefore essential to design a control method that produces a motion which is more energy efficient and natural comparable to those performed by humans. In this paper, we address this issue by modeling the virtual spring-damper based on the cart-table model...
To improve the walking stability of the passive bipedal robot with knees, a four-linkage multiaxial bionic knee is implemented in the robot leg, developing a new kind of passive-dynamic bipedal robot. A 3D dynamic simulation model of the robot walking on a slope is established in MSC. ADAMS and a numerical simulation is performed simultaneously. The robot's smooth walking was achieved, which contributes...
In this study, we present the conceptual design of a fully-passive transfemoral prosthesis. The design is inspired by the power flow in human gait in order to have an energy efficient device. The working principle of the conceptual mechanism is based on three storage elements, which are responsible of the energetic coupling between the knee and the ankle joints. Design parameters of the prosthesis...
In this paper, we present the prototype realization of the conceptual design of a fully-passive transfemoral prosthesis. The working principle has been inspired by the power flow in human gait so to achieve an energy efficient device. The main goal of this paper is to validate the concept by implementing in a real prototype. The prototype, in scale 1 ∶ 2 with respect to the average dimensions of an...
This is the first study of a real physical kneed bipedal robot that exhibits passive dynamic running (PDR). Passive dynamic walking (PDW), which has its roots in the pioneering research of McGeer, intrinsically offers not only nonlinear phenomena such as the pull-in effect and period-doubling bifurcation, but also offers an extremely interesting phenomenon that facilitates the engineering of a highly...
This paper presents a simulation of bipedal locomotion to control the stimulation pulses of functional electrical stimulation (FES) for activating muscles for paraplegic walking with spring brake orthosis (SBO). The work is a first effort towards restoring natural like swing phase in paraplegic gait through a new hybrid orthosis, referred to as spring brake orthosis (SBO). This mechanism simplifies...
Precise and large torque generation, back-drivability, low output impedance, and compactness of hardware are important requirements for human assistive robots. In this paper, a compact rotary series elastic actuator (cRSEA) is designed considering these requirements. To magnify the torque generated by an electric motor in the limited space of the compact device, a worm gear is utilized. However, the...
Zero moment point has been usually employed for balance keeping and walking analysis of active biped robots with bent knees, while balance and walking stability analysis of passive robots has been done using cyclic analysis approaches. While the problem in general is common, the two approaches have been separated in the literature for two different classes of passivity-based and ZMP-based robots....
This work presents the mechanical human gait-based 3D bipedal walking robot. The robot mimics human walking through the push-off mechanism at the ankle, the passive knee bending mechanism, and the simple lateral balance control. To generate walking, it uses simple waveforms which are derived from human gait data. The preliminary experiment demonstrates that the robot walks stably.
A system to restore walking in the vicinity of a wheelchair for people with paraplegia resulting from spinal cord injury is under development. The approach combines single channel surface electrical stimulation with an orthosis. The orthosis is spring loaded and contains a pneumatic system that stores energy during knee extension caused by quadriceps stimulation and transfers it to hip joint for hip...
In this study, we present the conceptual design of a fully-passive transfemoral prosthesis. The proposed design is inspired by the analysis of the musculo-skeletal activity of the healthy human leg. In order to realize an energy efficient device, we introduce three storage elements, which are responsible of the energetic coupling between the knee and the ankle joints. Simulation results show that...
This paper proposes a new configuration for a hybrid-FES gait restoration system, and presents a combination of simulation and experiment that support the feasibility of the proposed approach. Gait simulation results are presented that indicate the majority of load bearing and the majority of power for gait is provided by the legs (i.e., quadriceps muscle stimulation). Based on these simulations,...
The function of the locomotor system in human gait is still an open question. Today robot bipeds are not able to reproduce the versatility of human locomotion. In this article a robotic knee joint and an experimental setup are proposed. The leg function is tested and the acquired data is compared to human leg behaviour in running observed in experiments.
In this paper the compliant low level control of a biologically inspired control architecture suited for bipedal dynamic walking robots is presented. It consists of elastic mechanics, a low-level compliant joint controller and a hierarchical reflex-based control layer. The former is implemented on a DSP while the reflex network is located on a desktop PC. Thus, one is able to utilize distribution...
In the present study, we investigate a control strategy for hopping motions of an articulated leg that is driven by series elastic actuation. A highly compliant spring in the knee joint allows the exploitation of periodic energy storage but creates a major control challenge by severely limiting the bandwidth of closed-loop position or force control. This handicap is intensified by slow actuators,...
A transtibial amputee does not have a functional gastrocnemius muscle, which affects the knee as well as the ankle joint. In this investigation, we developed a transtibial prosthesis comprising an artificial gastrocnemius mechanism as well as a powered ankle-foot device. A pilot study was conducted with a bilateral transtibial amputee walking at a self-selected speed. The trial compared muscle electromyography...
A hybrid functional electrical stimulation (FES)/orthosis system is being developed which combines two channels of (surface-electrode-based) electrical stimulation with a computer-controlled orthosis for the purpose of restoring gait to spinal cord injured (SCI) individuals (albeit with a stability aid, such as a walker). The orthosis is an energetically passive, controllable device which 1) unidirectionally...
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