Preliminary Experiments of an Adaptive Low-Dimensional Control for a Hybrid Neuroprosthesis

Abstract

Hybrid neuroprostheses that use both electric motor drives and functional electrical stimulation for the restoration of walking in persons with paraplegia have a promising potential. However, the hybrid actuation structure introduces effector redundancy, making the system complex and difficult to control. In this paper, preliminary experimental results of a recently developed low-dimensional controller, which is inspired from the muscle synergy principle, are presented. The experiments were performed on an able-bodied subject in a configuration where only one leg is actuated in a cycling manner while the contralateral leg was fixed.