Changes in pressure of strap while walking in a robotic gait training system

Abstract

Exoskeletons have been developed and widely used for medical, industrial, military applications. Since the exoskeletons are designed to provide the users with torques needed for the specific applications, it is important for the torques generated by either the users or the exoskeletons to be transmitted without any loss for their effectiveness. It is typical for the users to be attached to the exoskeletons using straps. However, it is inevitable for the straps to be loosened during a gait cycle due to compliance inherited in the tissues of skin and materials used for the straps, deformation of the muscles when activated, and misalignment of the joints. In this research, the pressures of strap on the user in an exoskeleton robot as well as the relative acceleration between the user and exoskeleton were measured. Experimental results showed higher pressures during the stance phase and larger relative motions in the swing phase. Furthermore, the relative motions were similar to each other regardless of the pressure settings.