Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A Review
Robot knee exoskeletons can not only help the rehabilitation training function of the elderly and disabled patients, but also enhance the performance of healthy people in normal walking and weigh-bearing walking by providing sufficient torques. In recent years, the exoskeletons of knee joints have b...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/2/1064 |
| _version_ | 1797446503796572160 |
|---|---|
| author | Zongpeng Wu Mingxing Yang Yulei Xia Liwei Wang |
| author_facet | Zongpeng Wu Mingxing Yang Yulei Xia Liwei Wang |
| author_sort | Zongpeng Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Robot knee exoskeletons can not only help the rehabilitation training function of the elderly and disabled patients, but also enhance the performance of healthy people in normal walking and weigh-bearing walking by providing sufficient torques. In recent years, the exoskeletons of knee joints have been extensively explored. The review is to summarize the existing research results of mechanical structure design and actuation technologies, propose the future development trend, and promote the further development of the powered knee exoskeletons, related theories, and engineering applications. In this study, the mechanical structures of knee exoskeletons are first illustrated. Their mechanical structures are classified into two types: simple mechanical structures with one purely rotary DOF and biological geometry-based multi-DOF structures. Subsequently, the actuation design of wearable knee exoskeletons includes conventional driving actuators, pneumatic muscle actuators, variable stiffness actuators, and other actuators are compared and the driving compliance and the difficulty in the accurate control are analyzed. Furthermore, other crucial technologies such as motion intention recognition, control strategy and performance evaluation methods of most knee assistive devices are reviewed. Finally, the key technologies of structural design and actuation design in the research of knee exoskeletons are summarized and future research hotspots are proposed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:41:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f8dce25ffe849f5b96ebdf820280835 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:41:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f8dce25ffe849f5b96ebdf8202808352023-11-30T21:05:42ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-01-01132106410.3390/app13021064Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A ReviewZongpeng Wu0Mingxing Yang1Yulei Xia2Liwei Wang3Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Special Heavy Load Robot, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243032, ChinaAnhui Province Key Laboratory of Special Heavy Load Robot, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243032, ChinaAnhui Province Key Laboratory of Special Heavy Load Robot, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243032, ChinaAnhui Province Key Laboratory of Special Heavy Load Robot, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243032, ChinaRobot knee exoskeletons can not only help the rehabilitation training function of the elderly and disabled patients, but also enhance the performance of healthy people in normal walking and weigh-bearing walking by providing sufficient torques. In recent years, the exoskeletons of knee joints have been extensively explored. The review is to summarize the existing research results of mechanical structure design and actuation technologies, propose the future development trend, and promote the further development of the powered knee exoskeletons, related theories, and engineering applications. In this study, the mechanical structures of knee exoskeletons are first illustrated. Their mechanical structures are classified into two types: simple mechanical structures with one purely rotary DOF and biological geometry-based multi-DOF structures. Subsequently, the actuation design of wearable knee exoskeletons includes conventional driving actuators, pneumatic muscle actuators, variable stiffness actuators, and other actuators are compared and the driving compliance and the difficulty in the accurate control are analyzed. Furthermore, other crucial technologies such as motion intention recognition, control strategy and performance evaluation methods of most knee assistive devices are reviewed. Finally, the key technologies of structural design and actuation design in the research of knee exoskeletons are summarized and future research hotspots are proposed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/2/1064knee exoskeletonsmechanical structure designactuation technologiescompliance |
| spellingShingle | Zongpeng Wu Mingxing Yang Yulei Xia Liwei Wang Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A Review Applied Sciences knee exoskeletons mechanical structure design actuation technologies compliance |
| title | Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A Review |
| title_full | Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A Review |
| title_fullStr | Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A Review |
| title_short | Mechanical Structural Design and Actuation Technologies of Powered Knee Exoskeletons: A Review |
| title_sort | mechanical structural design and actuation technologies of powered knee exoskeletons a review |
| topic | knee exoskeletons mechanical structure design actuation technologies compliance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/2/1064 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zongpengwu mechanicalstructuraldesignandactuationtechnologiesofpoweredkneeexoskeletonsareview AT mingxingyang mechanicalstructuraldesignandactuationtechnologiesofpoweredkneeexoskeletonsareview AT yuleixia mechanicalstructuraldesignandactuationtechnologiesofpoweredkneeexoskeletonsareview AT liweiwang mechanicalstructuraldesignandactuationtechnologiesofpoweredkneeexoskeletonsareview |