Design, Kinematics, and Control of a Modular Robotic Suit as an Exercise System to Prevent Muscle Atrophy of Astronauts During Long-Duration Space Missions

Abstract

Abstract Muscle atrophy is a significant health issue for astronauts during long-duration space missions. Existing exercise equipment designed for use on spacecraft are an important part of mitigation strategies, but have some limitations. This paper presents a simple and compact modular robotic suit to overcome some of these limitations. Design rationale, kinematic modeling of the robot, control strategies for exercise, and prototyping of the modular robotic suit (MORS) are described.