Modelling of an intention based upper-limb exo-skeleton

Abstract

Exoskeletons are a special type of collaborative robot that can be thought of as a humanoid robot clung to a human body (or a pilot). The proposed powered exoskeleton/robot is a 3 Degree of Freedom (DoF) robot and it relies on DC motors to apply the necessary joint torques which in turn require an input to drive these motors. Using Euler-Lagrange dynamics, dynamic model of this robot is developed that provides a mathematical relations among joint torques, joint angles and torque at the end effector. Force sensors at the wrist compute the desired input torque at the end effector; this dynamic model then maps the input torque to the respective joint torques that can produce the desired input torque at the end effector.