Realization of Natural Human Motion on a 3D Biped Robot For Studying the Exoskeleton Effective

• Published in: Journal of medical and biological engineering Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 856 - 869
• Main Authors: Lee, Chi-Ying, Lan, Shih Chieh, Lin, Jung-Ji, Lin, Yu-Ting, Chiang, Po-Shen, Hsu, Wei-Li, Jen, Kuo-Kuang, Huang, Andy Y. S., Yen, Jia-Yush
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bars; Biological Techniques; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology; Biomedicine; Center of gravity; Electrical impedance; Energy consumption; Exoskeleton; Exoskeletons; Gait; Human motion; Mimicry; Motion capture; Original Article; Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering; Robot dynamics; Robots; Simulation; Three dimensional motion; Walking; Biped simulation; C63; Human motion implementation; Exoskeleton effectiveness
• ISSN: 1609-0985; 2199-4757
• DOI: 10.1007/s40846-021-00634-y

Purpose In this study, natural human motion was modeled using a three-dimensional simulation involving a biped robot. Exoskeleton assistance was examined through the extraction and analysis of kinematic and dynamic parameters. The present findings can serve as a reference for a study on exoskeleton design in which user effort is considered. Methods A biped robot simulator of human gait was constructed. A participant’s movement was recorded using a Vicon motion capture system. The effect of exoskeleton assistance on gait performance was evaluated under admittance control for user interaction. Results In the simulation of a squatting motion, the exoskeleton helped the user lift a 50-lb weight without the user exerting any additional effort. Exoskeleton energy consumption was also examined. Virtual parallel bars effectively assisted the biped in simulating natural walking gait. Adjusting the body’s center of gravity helped reduce the robot’s dependence on the parallel bars, as did changing the walking speed, which allowed the body to catch up with leg motion. Conclusion The biped effectively simulated the participant’s motion when he did not walk away from where he stood. Special care was taken because the biped robot lacked the degrees of freedom of human motion. Notably, virtual parallel bars were successfully used to help the robot walk with a natural gait. This method can be applied in scenarios mimicking humans moving with assistance.