Design, development and analysis of human exoskeleton for enhancing human capabilities

Abstract

Abstract The study of the exoskeleton is widely recognized as the current challenge for robotic research. The exoskeleton helps us understand the complex gait cycles of the human locomotion. This paper aims to design a lightweight and easy to use powered dynamic exoskeleton with a higher weight carrying capabilities and produce gait cycles which imitate human locomotion. In this paper, we have proposed some novel mechanisms to overcome the limitations of heavy load-carrying capacities of the soldiers and also help with gait rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury, stroke, or neurological disorder. The exoskeleton is divided into the upper body and the lower body. The upper arm and the forearm are actuated by DC Geared motors and thus the upper limb can trace any path in the parasagittal plane. The thigh and calf segments are actuated by DC Geared motors to mimic the human gait cycle. The torques required to achieve this motion are discussed here.