Age-related diseases can lead to knee joint misfunction, making knee assistance necessary through the use of robotic wearable braces. However, existing wearable robots face challenges in force transmission and human motion adaptation, particularly among the elderly. Although soft actuators have been used in wearable robots, achieving rapid response and motion control while maintaining portability remains challenging. To address these issues, we propose a soft-robotic knee brace system integrated with multiple sensors and a direct-drive hydraulic actuation system. This approach allows for controlled and rapid force output on the portable hydraulic system. The multi-sensor feedback structure enables the robotic system to collaborate with the human body through human physiological signal and body motion information. The human user tests demonstrate that the knee robot provides assistive torques to the knee joint by being triggered by the electromyography signal and under human motion control.
赵亚飞1,黄超逸2,邹玉莹2,邹可涵1,邹笑阳4,薛嘉琦4,李晓婷4,KOH Keng Huat4,王小军3,赖伟超4,胡勇3,席宁1,王峥5
. Integrated Hydraulic-Driven Wearable Robot for Knee Assistance[J]. Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University(Science), 2023
, 28(3)
: 289
-295
.
DOI: 10.1007/s12204-023-2602-2
[1]KULOWSKI J. The classic: Flexion contracture of the knee: The mechanics of the muscular contracture and the turnbuckle cast method of treatment; with a review of fifty-five cases [J]. Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research, 2007, 464: 4-10.
[2]HYODO K, MASUDA T, AIZAWA J, et al. Hip, knee, and ankle kinematics during activities of daily living: A cross-sectional study [J]. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 2017, 21(3): 159-166.
[3]TAGLIAMONTE N L, SERGI F, CARPINO G, et al. Human-robot interaction tests on a novel robot for gait assistance [C]//2013 IEEE 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics. Seattle: IEEE, 2013: 1-6.
[4]QUINTERO H A, FARRIS R J, GOLDFARB M. A method for the autonomous control of lower limb exoskeletons for persons with paraplegia [J]. Journal of Medical Devices, 2012, 6(4): 0410031-0410036.
[5]YOUNG A J, FERRIS D P. State of the art and future directions for lower limb robotic exoskeletons [J]. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 2017, 25(2): 171-182.
[6]SCHIELE A. Ergonomics of exoskeletons: Subjective performance metrics [C]//2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. St. Louis: IEEE, 2009: 480-485.
[7]RUS D, TOLLEY M T. Design, fabrication and control of soft robots [J]. Nature, 2015, 521(7553): 467-475.
[8]NISHIOKA Y, UESU M, TSUBOI H, et al. Development of a pneumatic soft actuator with pleated inflatable structures [J]. Advanced Robotics, 2017, 31(14): 753-762.
[9]PARK J, CHOI J, KIM S J, et al. Design of an inflatable wrinkle actuator with fast inflation/deflation responses for wearable suits [J]. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2020, 5(3): 3799-3805.
[10]SRIDAR S, NGUYEN P H, ZHU M J, et al. Development of a soft-inflatable exosuit for knee rehabilitation [C]//2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Vancouver: IEEE, 2017: 3722-3727.
[11]FOCCHI M, GUGLIELMINO E, SEMINI C, et al. Control of a hydraulically-actuated quadruped robot leg [C]//2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Anchorage: IEEE, 2010: 4182-4188.
[12]BLACKBURN J F, REETHOF G, SHEARER J L. Fluid power control [M]. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1960
[13]KRUTZ G W, CHUA P S K. Water hydraulics: Theory and applications 2004[C]//Workshop on Water Hydraulics, Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference. Louisville: Local Committee, 2004: 1-33.
[14]MELLER M A, BRYANT M, GARCIA E. Reconsidering the McKibben muscle: Energetics, operating fluid, and bladder material [J]. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 2014, 25(18): 2276-2293.
[15]MARTINEZ-HERNANDEZ U, DEHGHANI-SANIJ A A. Probabilistic identification of sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit with a wearable sensor [J]. Pattern Recognition Letters, 2019, 118: 32-41.
[16]PARK Y L, CHEN B R, PE′REZ-ARANCIBIA N O, et al. Design and control of a bio-inspired soft wearable robotic device for ankle-foot rehabilitation [J]. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2014, 9(1): 016007.
[17]SRIDAR S, QIAO Z, MUTHUKRISHNAN N, et al. A soft-inflatable exosuit for knee rehabilitation: Assisting swing phase during walking [J]. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2018, 5: 44.
[18]VEALE A J, STAMAN K, VAN DER KOOIJ H. Soft, wearable, and pleated pneumatic interference actuator provides knee extension torque for sit-to-stand [J]. Soft Robotics, 2021, 8(1): 28-43.
[19]ABBASI P, NEKOUI M A, ZAREINEJAD M, et al. Position and force control of a soft pneumatic actuator [J]. Soft Robotics, 2020, 7(5): 550-563.
[20]LI X T, KOH K H, FARHAN M, et al. An ultraflexible polyurethane yarn-based wearable strain sensor with a polydimethylsiloxane infiltrated multilayer sheath for smart textiles [J]. Nanoscale, 2020, 12(6): 4110-4118.
[21]REAZ M B I, HUSSAIN M S, MOHD-YASIN F. Techniques of EMG signal analysis: Detection, processing, classification and applications [J]. Biological Procedures Online, 2006, 8(1): 11-35.
[22]BURI H, WEINAND Y. ORIGAMI — folded plate structures, architecture [C]//10th World Conference on Timber Engineering. Miyazaki: Enigineered Wood Products Association, 2008: 2090-2097.
[23]YI J, CHEN X J, SONG C Y, et al. Customizable three-dimensional-printed origami soft robotic joint with effective behavior shaping for safe interactions [J]. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2019, 35(1): 114-123.