• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.364-371
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments in lower limb exoskeletons. The exoskeleton system is a human-robot cooperation system that enhances the performance of the wearer in various environments while the human operator is in charge of the position control, contextual perception, and motion signal generation through the robot's artificial intelligence. This system is in the form of a mechanical structure that is combined to the exterior of a human body to improve the muscular power of the wearer. This paper is followed by an overview of the development history of exoskeleton systems and their three main applications in military/industrial field, medical/rehabilitation field and social welfare field. Besides the key technologies in exoskeleton systems, the research is presented from several viewpoints of the exoskeleton mechanism, human-robot interface and human-robot cooperation control.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2008년도 추계학술대회A
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• pp.1600-1602
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• 2008

Various applications of exoskeleton system are reported in the area of military, healthcare, and industries. More the user gets help from exoskeleton system, more power is consumed. To resolve this design conflict, we suggest an energy efficient exoskeleton system which compensates muscle fatigue in isotonic and isometric contraction conditions. Fatigue compensated exoskeleton significantly reduced muscle fatigue while consumed less operation power. In addition, the level of fatigue compensation can be managed by motor control using various input profile. It can make user customized exoskeleton system.

• 한국마린엔지니어링학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국마린엔지니어링학회 2011년도 후기공동학술대회 논문집
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• pp.97-98
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• 2011

This paper is about the study of a new exo-skeleton device applying a gravity compensator. The exo-skeleton devices is to reduce the external torque applied to the human body joint for the purpose of helping the disabled, reducing heavy payload for industry workers or military soldiers. Most of the exoskeleton devices are actuated by the motors, but motors are limited in energy such that a short durability is always a big problem. In this paper, an exoskeleton device using a new gravity compensator based on a torsion bar is proposed to reduce the torque load applied to human body joints. The exoskeleton device is designed for the lower body of human. Analyses on the torsion bar spring and link of the exoskeleton device using FEM method were performed. To reduce the applied torque to the human joint, a torsion bar gravity compensator is applied to the exoskeleton. The effect of the torsion bar compensator for the exoskeleton device was verified through load test using developed test equipment.

• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
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• 제10권5호
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• pp.434-441
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• 2004

In this paper, an exoskeleton-type motion capturing system is designed and implemented. The device is designed to have 12 degree-of-freedom entirely to represent human arm motions. Forward and inverse kinematics of the device are analyzed to make sure of its singular positions. With the designed model parameters, simulation studies are conducted to verify that the designed motion capturing system is effective to represent human motions within the workspace. As a counterpart of the exoskeleton system, a mobile robot is built to follow human motion restrictively. Experimental studies of teleoperation from the exoskeleton device to control the mobile robot are carried out to show feasible application of wireless man-machine interface.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.124-131
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• 2017

This paper present a novel approach to control the lower body power assistive exoskeleton system of a HEXAR-CR35 aimed at improving a muscular strength. More specifically the control of based on the human intention is crucial of importance to ensure intuitive and dexterous motion with the human. In this contribution, we proposed the detection algorithm of the human intention using the MCRS which are developed to measure the contraction of the muscle with variation of the circumference. The proposed algorithm provides a joint motion of exoskeleton corresponding the relate muscles. The main advantages of the algorithm are its simplicity, computational efficiency to control one joint of the HEXAR-CR35 which are consisted knee-active type exoskeleton (the other joints are consisted with the passive or quasi-passive joints that can be arranged by analyzing of the human joint functions). As a consequence, the motion of exoskeleton is generated according to the gait phase: swing and stance phase which are determined by the foot insole sensors. The experimental evaluation of the proposed algorithm is achieved in walking with the exoskeleton while carrying the external mass in the back side.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.471-477
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• 2022

Objective: The greatest motor impairment after stroke is a decreased ability to walk. Most stroke patients achieve independent gait, but approximately 70% do not reach normal speed, making it difficult to reach a standard of daily living. Therefore, a wearable exoskeleton is recommended for optimal independent gait because different residual disorders hinder motor function after stroke. This review synthesized the effect on gait speed in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which gait training using a wearable exoskeleton was performed on post-stroke patients for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis of a randomized controlled trials Methods: RCTs using wearable exoskeletons in robotic rehabilitation of post-stroke patients were extracted from an international electronic database. For quality assessment and quantitative analysis, RevMan 5.4 was used. Quantitative analysis was calculated as the standardized mean difference (SMD) and presented as a random effect model. Results: Five studies involving 197 post-stroke patients were included in this review. As a result of the analysis using a random effect model, gait training using a wearable exoskeleton in post-stroke patients showed a significant improvement in gait speed compared to the non-wearing exoskeleton (SMD=1.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.52 to 1.78). Conclusions: This study concluded that a wearable exoskeleton was more effective than conventional gait training in improving the gait speed in post-stroke patients.

• 대한기계학회논문집A
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• 제41권6호
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• pp.469-475
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• 2017

최근 산업현장에서 작업자들의 장시간 작업으로 인한 사고 및 부상의 위험을 방지하기 위하여 작업자들의 근력을 보조할 수 있는 외골격 근력보조 장치에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 그러나 기존의 외골격 장치들은 작업자의 근력을 보조하기 위하여 모터의 동력을 사용하므로, 고가일 뿐만 아니라 오작동의 위험이 있어서 산업현장에서 매우 제한적으로 사용되었다. 이러한 문제를 해결하기 위해서, 본 연구에서는 센서 및 모터 없이 순수 기계요소들만으로 구성된 근력보조 외골격 장치를 설계 및 제작하였다. 본 외골격 장치는 사람의 손목 관절을 제외한 어깨, 팔꿈치 관절의 동작이 추종 가능하며, 팔의 자중에 의한 중력토크를 상쇄 가능한 중력보상장치를 탑재하여 작업자의 팔에 대한 근력보조를 수행한다. 개발된 외골격 장치의 성능을 검증하기 위하여 EMG 센서를 이용한 근전도 비교 실험을 수행하였고, 실험 결과를 바탕으로 외골격 장치의 근력보조 성능을 확인하였다.

• 한국정밀공학회지
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• 제29권7호
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• pp.717-722
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• 2012

This paper presents the design and dynamic model of the finger exoskeleton actuated by Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC) to assist a tip pinch task. Although this exoskeleton will be developed to assist 3 degree-of-freedom motion of each finger, it has been currently made to perform the tip pinch task using 1 degree-of-freedom mechanism as the first step. The six layers of IPMC were stacked in parallel to increase the low actuation force of IPMC. In addition, the finger dummy was manufactured to evaluate the performance of the finger exoskeleton. The pinch task experiments, which were performed on the finger dummy with the developed exoskeleton, showed that the pinch force close to the desired level was obtained. Moreover, the dynamic model of the exoskeleton and finger dummy was developed in order to perform the various analyses for the improvement of the exoskeleton.

• 한국군사과학기술학회지
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.309-315
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• 2015

This paper presents a lower-limb exoskeleton testbed and its control method. An exoskeleton is a wearable robotic system that can enhance wearer's muscle power or assist human's movements. Among a variety of its applications, especially for military purpose, a wearable robot can be very useful for carrying heavy loads during locomotion by augmenting soldiers' mobility and endurance. The locomotion test on a treadmill was performed up to maximum 4km/h walking speed wearing the lower-limb exoskeleton testbed with a 45kg backpack load.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.164-172
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• 2013

This paper presents a new concept of a 1-DOF elbow exoskeleton driven by a twisted strings-based actuator. A novel joint actuation mechanism is proposed and its kinematic model is presented along with its experimental evaluation, and guidelines on how to choose the strings suitable for such an exoskeleton are given. We also proposed and experimentally verified a human intention detection method which takes advantage of intrinsic compliance of the mechanism. The study showed that the developed twisted strings-driven elbow exoskeleton is light, compact and have a high payload-to-weight ratio, which suggests that the device can be effectively used in a variety of haptics, teleoperation, and rehabilitation applications.