Colloquia

Summary

Walking and running are one of the most common types of human locomotion in day to day life, with the ankle supplying most of the required joint moment during running. An exoskeleton is able to supply the user with additional power and can be used when human joint performance is lacking. This can either be in a medical setting during rehabilitation, or in an industrrial setting for performance enhancement.
Different types of ankle exoskeletons have been developed, with varying power sources like pneumatics or servo motors, and varying ways of transmittting the force like hydraulics or a bowden cables. Most devices are however limited to walking, due to lack of speed or the increased weight of the device. 

The goal of this assignment was to develop a exoskeleton transmission to allow high velocity movements like running and jumping. This includes the mechanical alteration of the existing ankle exoskeleton, the design of suitable low- and high-level controllers, and the software integration of controllers and sensors. 

The developed dual ankle, bowden cable driven exoskeleton has been tested during 4km/h walking, 8km/h running and jumping exercises. During all three movements both the torque tracking performance, as well as the change of gait kinematics between support conditions is analysed.