ALICE: Conceptual Development of a Lower Limb Exoskeleton Robot Driven by an On-Board Musculoskeletal Simulator

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 20; no. 3; p. 789
• Main Authors: Cardona, Manuel, García Cena, Cecilia E., Serrano, Fernando, Saltaren, Roque
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 31.01.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: adaptive control; Design; Exoskeleton Device; exoskeleton robot; Exports; Gait; Humans; Kinematics; Lower Extremity - diagnostic imaging; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; muscle driven simulator; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Patients; quaternions; Rehabilitation; Robotics; Robots; Sensors; Wearable Electronic Devices; Workloads; adaptive control; quaternions; rehabilitation; exoskeleton robot; muscle driven simulator
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s20030789

Objective: In this article, we present the conceptual development of a robotics platform, called ALICE (Assistive Lower Limb Controlled Exoskeleton), for kinetic and kinematic gait characterization. The ALICE platform includes a robotics wearable exoskeleton and an on-board muscle driven simulator to estimate the user’s kinetic parameters. Background: Even when the kinematics patterns of the human gait are well studied and reported in the literature, there exists a considerable intra-subject variability in the kinetics of the movements. ALICE aims to be an advanced mechanical sensor that allows us to compute real-time information of both kinetic and kinematic data, opening up a new personalized rehabilitation concept. Methodology: We developed a full muscle driven simulator in an open source environment and validated it with real gait data obtained from patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. After that, we designed, modeled, and controlled a 6 DoF lower limb exoskeleton with inertial measurement units and a position/velocity sensor in each actuator. Significance: This novel concept aims to become a tool for improving the diagnosis of pathological gait and to design personalized robotics rehabilitation therapies. Conclusion: ALICE is the first robotics platform automatically adapted to the kinetic and kinematic gait parameters of each patient.