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- Title
Development of split-force-controlled body weight support (SF-BWS) robot for gait rehabilitation.
- Authors
Asuka Takai; Tatsuya Teramae; Tomoyuki Noda; Koji Ishihara; Jun-ichiro Furukawa; Hiroaki Fujimoto; Megumi Hatakenaka; Nobukazu Fujita; Akihiro Jino; Yuichi Hiramatsu; Ichiro Miyai; Jun Morimoto
- Abstract
This study introduces a body-weight-support (BWS) robot actuated by two pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). Conventional BWS devices typically use springs or a single actuator, whereas our robot has a split force-controlled BWS (SF-BWS), in which two force-controlled actuators independently support the left and right sides of the user’s body. To reduce the experience of weight, vertical unweighting support forces are transferred directly to the user’s left and right hips through a newly designed harness with an open space around the shoulder and upper chest area to allow freedom of movement. A motion capture evaluation with three healthy participants confirmed that the proposed harness does not impede upper-body motion during laterally identical force-controlled partial BWS walking, which is quantitatively similar to natural walking. To evaluate our SFBWS robot, we performed a force-tracking and split-force control task using different simulated load weight setups (40, 50, and 60 kg masses). The split-force control task, providing independent force references to each PAM and conducted with a 60 kg mass and a test bench, demonstrates that our SF-BWS robot is capable of shifting human body weight in the mediolateral direction. The SFBWS robot successfully controlled the two PAMs to generate the desired vertical support forces.
- Subjects
BODY weight; ARTIFICIAL muscles; MOTION capture (Human mechanics); HUMAN body; ROBOTS; MOBILE robots; FREEDOM of movement
- Publication
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2023, p1
- ISSN
1662-5161
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3389/fnhum.2023.1197380