A Joint Torque Augmentation Robot (JTAR) for Ankle Gait Assistance

Abstract

A Joint Torque Augmentation Robot (JTAR) was developed to aid walking in an unconstrained outdoor environment. JTAR is a unidirectional, compliant actuator based wearable robot that is designed to power an ankle joint. Since the robot is used to navigate uneven terrain, nearly full ankle range of motion is required to accomplish this goal. The device powers the forward locomotion while permitting out of plane kinematic motion to occur. Metabolic savings of 9% to 20% have been observed while using the JTAR device, when compared to an unpowered/uncoupled state.