Enhancing the capabilities of current exoskeletons by the implementation of a decentralized actuation system in combination with self-aligning mechanisms (FWOSB34)

Gait and balance disorders are a common and significant cause of disability of the global population. The most common causes are associated with age-related pathologies, neurological disorders and accidents. Decreased mobility significantly reduces life expectancy and quality, and thus rehabilitation training is needed to help these patients regain mobility. Robotics for rehabilitation treatment is an emerging field which is expected to grow as a solution to automate gait training. Many robotic exoskeletons for lower-limb rehabilitation have been developed during the last decade.

However, current systems have not yet reached the level of performance required for its extensive integration as a rehabilitation tool by the clinical community. They are heavy, bulky, require long donning and doffing times and have a luck of safety. This project aims at the improvement of these drawbacks by the research and implementation of novel actuation technologies into a representative platform of the current state-of-the-art, the ALTACRO exoskeleton. The final objective will be to enhance this platform by means of the developed technologies to further compare and assess the achieved improvement. If the objectives of this project are accomplished, the proposed solutions could then be further extended to the rest of the available exoskeletons.

Keywords:exoskeletons

Disciplines:Other mechanical and manufacturing engineering not elsewhere classified