Lab experiences with a linkage exoskeleton for walking assistance

Abstract

The population with reduced mobility capacity increases every year. This factor affects the quality of life of the individuals and their dependence of others. To treat this cases physical therapy is required. With the aid of robotic devices, the motor learning of the individuals can be improved by the controlled assistance of the exercises. The disadvantages of the existing rehabilitation robotic solutions revealed the need of develop low cost devices which allow the rehabilitation patients with impaired limbs. A singly actuated linkage exoskeleton was tested using CONTEMPLAS image analysis system. Firstly, the human walking was analyzed in terms of joint angles and trajectories. Then, the same pa-rameters were measured during the exoskeleton’s walking “on air” analysis. A comparison was estab-lished between both gait patterns and results showed similarities between them. Future tests and solutions are proposed.