Assistance strategy for stair ascent with a robotic hip exoskeleton
Junwon Jang, Kyungrock Kim, Jusuk Lee, Bokman Lim, Youngbo Shim
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a novel assistance strategy for stair ascent walking using our robotic hip exoskeleton. Our strategy exploits foot contact event estimated by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and can detect user intention as well as reflect user preference. In our strategy, a gait cycle is divided into 4 phases and the transitions between the phases are based on events that are unavoidable and can be detected reliably using the sensors available for our exoskeleton. The proposed strategy presents criteria for the initiation and termination of assistance by recognizing user intention, as well as methods to adjust the timing and the amount of assistance corresponding to user preference. When each step starts, the duration of assistance is determined and the torque profile for the whole step is planned ahead. We demonstrate the validity of the proposed strategy for stair ascent and examine its effects on hip joint angle trajectory through experimental results.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2016_assistancestrate,
title = {Assistance strategy for stair ascent with a robotic hip exoskeleton},
author = {Junwon Jang and Kyungrock Kim and Jusuk Lee and Bokman Lim and Youngbo Shim},
booktitle = {IROS 2016},
year = {2016}
}