Control System Development for One-Side Hip-Knee Joint of Reciprocating Gait Orthosis

Abstract

This paper presents development of control system for one side hip-knee joint of reciprocating gait orthosis (RGO) that aim to aid upright ambulation for paraplegic. The developed RGO structure is equipped with four direct current (DC) servo motors to deliver torque and provide ability for patient to walk. A control system with PID controller for DC motors is developed in MATLAB Simulink to execute real-time task and the system response is identified graphically. The trajectory of RGO links is generated by the input value of one side of its hip and knee joint while its final position is predicted by kinematic analysis. The results based on the RGO kinematic analysis shows the improvement on the controller. Finally, it can be ascertained that our developed control system was able to demonstrate a normal walking gait pattern. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.