Structure design and analysis of upper limb wearable passive power-assisted exoskeleton robot

Abstract

Abstract The upper limb exoskeleton robot has been a key research direction at home and abroad in recent years. Still, the existing upper limb exoskeleton robot has poor coupling with the human body, and the power assistance effect could be better. In this paper, the strength of each muscle group of the upper limb when the human body is carrying objects is measured as reflected by the surface EMG signal of the human body, and the human kinematics is analyzed to guide the design of the passive exoskeleton robot of the upper limb. First, the spring tension and compression system model is established for the upper limb of the human body. The model is statically analyzed, the forces and moments on each joint are calculated, and each muscle’s actual output data when carrying objects is estimated. Based on the muscle kinematics model, a passive upper limb exoskeleton robot is designed. The robot is divided into three modules, namely, the arm module, shoulder module, and back module, using ergonomics and modular design ideas. The energy storage module and joint degree of freedom of the exoskeleton are analyzed to ensure that the exoskeleton meets the requirements of ergonomics, and the key components are checked and simulated. The results show that the designed upper limb wearable passive power-assisted exoskeleton robot meets the strength requirements, which verifies the rationality of the structure design.