Design and Scaling of Exoskeleton Power Units Considering Load Cycles of Humans

Exoskeletons are powerful tools for aiding humans with pathological conditions, in dangerous environments or in manually exhausting tasks. Typically, they are designed for specific maximum scenarios without taking into account the diversity of tasks and the individuality of the user. To address this...

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Dades bibliogràfiques
Autors principals: Marcel Waldhof, Isabell Wochner, Katrin Stollenmaier, Nejila Parspour, Syn Schmitt
Format: Article
Idioma:English
Publicat: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Col·lecció:Robotics
Matèries:
Accés en línia:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-6581/11/5/107
Descripció
Sumari:Exoskeletons are powerful tools for aiding humans with pathological conditions, in dangerous environments or in manually exhausting tasks. Typically, they are designed for specific maximum scenarios without taking into account the diversity of tasks and the individuality of the user. To address this discrepancy, a framework was developed for personalizing an exoskeleton by scaling the components, especially the electrical machine, based on different simulated human muscle forces. The main idea was to scale a numerical arm model based on body mass and height to predict different movements representing both manual labor and daily activities. The predicted torques necessary to produce these movements were then used to generate a load/performance cycle for the power unit design. Considering these torques, main operation points of this load cycle were defined and a reference power unit was scaled and optimized. Therefore, a scalability model for an electrical machine is introduced. This individual adaptation and scaling of the power unit for different users leads to a better performance and a lighter design.
ISSN:2218-6581