Designing a 12 DoF lower extremity exoskeleton based on the gait kinematics data

Abstract

Exoskeletons are wearable robots that are attached to the human body and can improve the physical performance of their operators. Nowadays, these biomechatronic systems are used in different fields such as rehabilitation, military and industry. Since exoskeletons have close interaction surface with human body, it should be considered in biomechanical factors such as degrees of freedom, joints' range of motion, anthropometric dimensions and safety issues in designing such systems. The aim of this study was designing a lower extremity exoskeleton which does not create disorder in natural motion during user walking on a flat ground, beside parameters mentioned earlier. The design of this exoskeleton has been done in SolidWorks software based on gait kinematics data obtained from 10 subjects. The novelty of this study was usage of force generated by arm muscles of the user for helping him to walk. This idea beside simplification of the manufacturing process, decrease the cost and time too. The results of this study showed that the proposed mechanism in the design of this exoskeleton has appropriate coincidence with natural body states in degrees of freedom and joints' range of motion during walking.