Hip-knee Joints Coordinated Autonomous Control Method for a Wearable Robot

doi:10.3901/JME.2018.23.039

Abstract

Abstract: In order to ameliorate the flexibility and multi-joints autonomy in the walking assist environment, a novel notion of coordinated autonomous control method is introduced. The control method is based on CPGs network with dual mechanisms of external-communication and inner-inhibition. A CPG unit with its external-communication mechanism is connected to each left and right hip/knee joints to guarantee the independent HRI occurring at each joint. CPGs of the left and right hip/knee joints and CPGs of the hip and knee joints at the ipsilateral leg are connected in an inhibitory way to maintain an anti-phase relationship of the left and right hip/knee joints and natural phase difference between the hip-knee joints, and thus to realize stable walking assist in the complicated HRI environment. The validity of the proposal to generate the hip-knee joints coordination motion in walking is verified by wearable walking assist experiments. The assist effect of the proposed control has been discussed and analyzed using index of the muscle activity, step-length and walking speed.

Key words: coordinated autonomous control, hip-knee joints, walking assist, wearable robot

CLC Number:

TP241

ZHANG Xia, CHEN Renxiang, CHEN Lili, HASHIMOTO Minoru. Hip-knee Joints Coordinated Autonomous Control Method for a Wearable Robot[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2018, 54(23): 39-46.

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