Design of the force-sensors system of WPAL

Abstract

The Wearable Power Assist Leg(WPAL) in Feng Chen, et al, (2007) is designed for normal human power augmentation during walking. In this paper, the Force-sensors system of the WPAL has been theoretically analyzed and technically realized in order to gain the interactive movement information of human-robot system for the aim of estimating the operator's intentions and realizing to provide enough assistive power for the operator to amplify the strength and endurance of human leg. After analyzing the necessary interactive information which is used to control the WPAL system, the Force-sensor system has been designed to include the leg reaction force (LRF) sensors, the ground reaction force (GRF) sensors, and the joint angle sensors measuring the joint angles of WPAL for gaining the contact force information and the joint information of the human-robot system. The experiment results showed that the multi-sensor perceptual system performed stably and provided the safeguard for the control of the WPAL.