Background
Many jobs require prolonged lower-limb activities, such as store patrollers who walk for long periods and floor tile workers who frequently squat and stand up, which can easily lead to musculoskeletal disorders . Lower-limb exoskeleton robots can help wearers perform lower-limb activities in an energy efficient way, avoiding musculoskeletal disorders.
Research Objectives
Developing lower-limb exoskeleton robots to assist wearers in walking, squatting, and climbing stairs in a more energy efficient way
Methods
Estimating the wearer's motion intentions through joint angles, motor currents, and system models, and using admittance control laws to make the exoskeleton robot comply with the wearer's intentions to save energy of the wearers.
Innovation
The same intent estimation and admittance control framework can be used to effectively assist various lower-limb movements.
Expected Outcomes
Develop and implement exoskeleton robots to assist wearers in energy efficient movement.