Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeleton
Powered knee exoskeletons have shown potential for mobility restoration and power augmentation. However, the benefits of exoskeletons are partially offset by some design challenges that still limit their positive effects on people. Among them, joint misalignment is a critical aspect mostly because t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018160/full |
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| author | Shuangyue Yu Tzu-Hao Huang Antonio Di Lallo Sainan Zhang Sainan Zhang Tian Wang Qiushi Fu Qiushi Fu Hao Su Hao Su Hao Su |
| author_facet | Shuangyue Yu Tzu-Hao Huang Antonio Di Lallo Sainan Zhang Sainan Zhang Tian Wang Qiushi Fu Qiushi Fu Hao Su Hao Su Hao Su |
| author_sort | Shuangyue Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Powered knee exoskeletons have shown potential for mobility restoration and power augmentation. However, the benefits of exoskeletons are partially offset by some design challenges that still limit their positive effects on people. Among them, joint misalignment is a critical aspect mostly because the human knee joint movement is not a fixed-axis rotation. In addition, remarkable mass and stiffness are also limitations. Aiming to minimize joint misalignment, this paper proposes a bio-inspired knee exoskeleton with a joint design that mimics the human knee joint. Moreover, to accomplish a lightweight and high compliance design, a high stiffness cable-tension amplification mechanism is leveraged. Simulation results indicate our design can reduce 49.3 and 71.9% maximum total misalignment for walking and deep squatting activities, respectively. Experiments indicate that the exoskeleton has high compliance (0.4 and 0.1 Nm backdrive torque under unpowered and zero-torque modes, respectively), high control bandwidth (44 Hz), and high control accuracy (1.1 Nm root mean square tracking error, corresponding to 7.3% of the peak torque). This work demonstrates performance improvement compared with state-of-the-art exoskeletons. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:54:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f4d5aa61f74476b9c7a138dc2b0a889 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:54:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f4d5aa61f74476b9c7a138dc2b0a8892022-12-22T03:58:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612022-11-011610.3389/fnhum.2022.10181601018160Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeletonShuangyue Yu0Tzu-Hao Huang1Antonio Di Lallo2Sainan Zhang3Sainan Zhang4Tian Wang5Qiushi Fu6Qiushi Fu7Hao Su8Hao Su9Hao Su10Lab of Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesLab of Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesLab of Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesLab of Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City College of New York, New York, NY, United StatesLab of Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesMechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United StatesNeuroMechanical Systems Laboratory, Biionix (Bionic Materials, Implants & Interfaces) Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United StatesLab of Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesJoint North Carolina State University/The University of North Carolina Department of Biomedical Engineering, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesJoint North Carolina State University/The University of North Carolina Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesPowered knee exoskeletons have shown potential for mobility restoration and power augmentation. However, the benefits of exoskeletons are partially offset by some design challenges that still limit their positive effects on people. Among them, joint misalignment is a critical aspect mostly because the human knee joint movement is not a fixed-axis rotation. In addition, remarkable mass and stiffness are also limitations. Aiming to minimize joint misalignment, this paper proposes a bio-inspired knee exoskeleton with a joint design that mimics the human knee joint. Moreover, to accomplish a lightweight and high compliance design, a high stiffness cable-tension amplification mechanism is leveraged. Simulation results indicate our design can reduce 49.3 and 71.9% maximum total misalignment for walking and deep squatting activities, respectively. Experiments indicate that the exoskeleton has high compliance (0.4 and 0.1 Nm backdrive torque under unpowered and zero-torque modes, respectively), high control bandwidth (44 Hz), and high control accuracy (1.1 Nm root mean square tracking error, corresponding to 7.3% of the peak torque). This work demonstrates performance improvement compared with state-of-the-art exoskeletons.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018160/fullbioinspired designcable-drivenself-alignmentknee exoskeletoncomplaint actuators |
| spellingShingle | Shuangyue Yu Tzu-Hao Huang Antonio Di Lallo Sainan Zhang Sainan Zhang Tian Wang Qiushi Fu Qiushi Fu Hao Su Hao Su Hao Su Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeleton Frontiers in Human Neuroscience bioinspired design cable-driven self-alignment knee exoskeleton complaint actuators |
| title | Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeleton |
| title_full | Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeleton |
| title_fullStr | Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeleton |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeleton |
| title_short | Bio-inspired design of a self-aligning, lightweight, and highly-compliant cable-driven knee exoskeleton |
| title_sort | bio inspired design of a self aligning lightweight and highly compliant cable driven knee exoskeleton |
| topic | bioinspired design cable-driven self-alignment knee exoskeleton complaint actuators |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018160/full |
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