Mechanical design of a gravity-balancing wearable exoskeleton for the motion enhancement of human upper limb
Journal
Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
Journal Volume
2015-June
Journal Issue
June
Start Page
4992
End Page
4997
ISSN
10504729
ISBN (of the container)
9780818634529
9781728173955
0818634529
0818627204
9781479969234
0780365763
9780780389144
9781538660263
078034300X
9781612843865
Date Issued
2015
Author(s)
Abstract
Powered exoskeletons can provide motion enhancement for both healthy and physically challenged people. Upper limb exoskeletons are required to have multiple degrees-of-freedom and can still produce sufficient force to augment the upper limb motion. The design using serial mechanisms usually results in a complicated and bulky exoskeleton that prevents itself from being wearable. This paper presents a new exoskeleton design aimed to achieve compactness and wearability. We consider a shoulder exoskeleton that consists of a parallel spherical mechanism with two slider crank mechanisms. The actuators can be placed on a stationary platform and attached closely to human body. Thus a better inertia property can be obtained while maintaining lightweight. Through the use of a gravity-balancing mechanism, the required actuator power becomes smaller and with better efficiency. A static model is developed to analyze and optimize the exoskeleton. Through illustrations of a prototype, the exoskeleton is shown to be wearable and can provide adequate motion enhancement of a human's upper limb.
Event(s)
2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2015
Subjects
Gravity-balancing
Spherical Mechanisms
Upper Limb Exoskeletons
Wearable Devices
Actuators
Agricultural Robots
Balancing
Degrees Of Freedom (mechanics)
Wearable Technology
Gravity-balancing
Inertia Properties
Multiple Degrees Of Freedom
Slider-crank Mechanism
Spherical Mechanisms
Stationary Platforms
Upper Limbs
Wearable Devices
Exoskeleton (robotics)
SDGs
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Description
2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2015. Seattle; WA; Washington State Convention Center. conference code:113196
Type
conference paper