A systematic graph-based method for the kinematic synthesis of non-anthropomorphic wearable robots

Abstract

The choice of non-anthropomorphic kinematic solutions for wearable robots is motivated both by the necessity of improving the ergonomics of physical Human-Robot Interaction and by the chance of exploiting the intrinsic dynamical properties of the robotic structure for an optimal interaction with the human body. Under these aspects, this new class of robotic solutions is potentially advantageous over the one of anthropomorphic robotic orthoses. However, the process of kinematic synthesis of non-antrhopomorphic wearable robots is very complex and difficult to be tackled by human intuition and engineering insight alone. A systematic approach is more useful for this purpose, since it allows to obtain the number of independent kinematic solutions with desired properties. In this perspective, this paper presents a method which enables to list the possible kinematic solutions for wearable robotic orthoses, which generalize the set of solutions of the problem of kinematic synthesis of a non-anthropomorphic wearable robot. This method has been implemented to derive the atlas of topologies of robotic kinematic chains which can be employed to support a 1-DOF human joint.