Design and First Operation of an Active Lower Limb Exoskeleton with Parallel Elastic Actuation

Actuators, vol. 10, pp. 75

Abstract

The lower limb exoskeleton investigated in this work actively supports the knee and hip and is intended to provide full motion support during gait. Parallel elastic actuators are integrated into the hip joints to improve the energy efficiency in gait. The prototype was tested in sit-to-stand and gait trials, in which the actuators were cascade-controlled with position trajectories. The compliant actuation of the hip in gait experiments proved to be more efficient; the peak torque was reduced by up to 31% and the RMS power was reduced by up to 36%.

Authors 6

1. Bernhard Penzlin corresponding Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 20, D-52074 Aachen, Germany

2. Lukas Bergmann Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 20, D-52074 Aachen, Germany

3. Yinbo Li

   Tsinghua University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Mechanical Design, Tsinghua University, Shuangqing Road 30, Beijing 100084, China

4. Linhong Ji

   Tsinghua University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Mechanical Design, Tsinghua University, Shuangqing Road 30, Beijing 100084, China

5. Steffen K. Leonhardt Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 20, D-52074 Aachen, Germany

6. Chuong Ngo Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 20, D-52074 Aachen, Germany