Author Topic: Robotic leg exoskeleton question  (Read 2435 times)

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Offline njqTopic starter

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Robotic leg exoskeleton question
« on: February 15, 2011, 03:48:08 AM »
Hi, I am planning to build a robotic leg orthosis (used for one leg only) that could be used by hemiparetic individuals or persons with one limb weaker than the other to help their rehabilitation.
 
Since I am new to robotics, I am having trouble with proper computations for the motor torque needed for the device.
I am planning on using servo motors (would these be enough or should I use other actuators?); one for each joint (hip, knee, and ankle) and use a microcontroller to control them.
The device is planned to be approximately 35 inches in length (17.5 in. from hip to knee and 17.5 in. from knee to foot)

The device will be primarily used for walking and maybe sitting and standing and support a person with 50 to 60 kgs.(110-130 lbs.) total weight.

Would appreciate any feedback or advice for the computations. Thanks!

Offline newInRobotics

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Re: Robotic leg exoskeleton question
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2011, 11:10:51 AM »
Good day :)

Have a look at A PAWL for Enhancing Strength and Endurance during Walking Using Interaction Force and Dynamical Information document, it has most of the information You need.

This is not an easy project to take up, especially if You are new to robotics.
I wanted to take up produce exoskeleton leg as my undergrad project artifact, however, the deeper I researched it, the more difficult it looked.
It looks quite straightforward at first, but once You give it a bit more thought You understand that there is more in it than You could initially imagine.

Give a thought to sensor related area of this project, how is the robot going to know when person wants to stop/start walking, change walking pace, step backwards, etc... ???

Think about battery related area of this project, howare You going to power up 3 DC motors/servos that are high torque or high speed (if You use harmonic drive system) and require a lot of current, what sort of battery are You going to use to provide many Ah, where are You going to place the battery if it is bulky, etc... ???

These are just to things to think about, there definitely are more to take into consideration.

This is a cool, however very demanding project; spend lots of time on the drawing board, consider possible ifs and buts, research what other achieved so far, how they achieved it, find schematics, part lists, etc...

Good luck  :)
« Last Edit: February 15, 2011, 05:41:24 PM by newInRobotics »
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