Design and dynamic analysis of an exoskeletal lower limbs rehabilitation robot

Abstract

The supply of traditional rehabilitation equipment can not satisfy the need of more and more paraplegia patients at present. A new exoskeletal rehabilitation robot is developed. The robot consists of two mechanical legs and an automatic seat. The length of the legs can be adjusted to fit different patients. Each mechanical leg has three degrees of freedom (DOF), just like the hip, the knee and the ankle joints. The patient can sit or lie in the seat. The functions of the robot are introduced, such as the robot technical parameters; the structure and the driving mode of the mechanical leg; the length adjusting function of the thigh and the calf; the multiple protection measures with the extreme revolving range of the 3 joints; the installation of the electric hardware. The human-machine integration model of the robot is established, and then the kinematics and the dynamics are analyzed and simulated with ADAMS software. The clinical experiments prove that the patients and the doctors are satisfied with the operation, safety and motion control. But the rehabilitation effect needs to be validated further. The clinical experiment results are compared with the simulation date of the tortile sensors and the main distinction matters are analyzed. © 2014 Journal of Mechanical Engineering.