앞으로 입는 보행보조 외골격 로봇의 2자유도 발목 관절 프레임 설계 및 검증

Abstract

The walking assistance powered exoskeleton for complete paraplegics is designed to facilitate their independent living. To achieve this goal, the wearer must be able to don the exoskeleton without assistance and maintain balance independently. However, all the walking assistance powered exoskeleton developed so far envelop the wearer’s back. As a result, these exoskeletons cannot be self-donned. This problem can be solved with the design of a front-wearable exoskeleton. To design a front-wearable exoskeleton with self-balancing capabilities, it is necessary to design an ankle joint frame that encircles the front of the wearer’s shank and foot. For walking assistance in various environments, implementing the dorsi/plantar flexion and in/eversion degrees of freedom in the ankle is crucial. Therefore, this paper introduces the design of a robust, non-interfering ankle joint frame with 2 degrees of freedom to enable independent living for complete paraplegics. The strength of the ankle joint frame was analyzed by finite element method (FEM) simulation, and its functionality was verified by manufacturing the actual product.