An Enhanced Model Free Adaptive Control Approach for Functional Electrical Stimulation Assisted Knee Joint Regulation and Control

Abstract

Functional electrical stimulation has been widely used in the neurologically disabled population as a rehabilitation method because of its intrinsic and higher ability to activate paralyzed muscles. However, the nonlinear and time-varying nature of the muscle against exogenous electrical stimulus makes it very challenging to achieve optimal control solutions in real-time, that results in difficulty in achieving functional electrical stimulus-assisted limb movement control in the real-time rehabilitation process. Model-based control methods have been suggested in many functional electrical stimulations elicited limb movement applications. However, in the presence of uncertainties and dynamic variations during the process the model-based control methods are unable to give a robust performance. In this work, a model-free adaptable control approach is designed to regulate knee joint movement with electrical stimulus assistance without prior knowledge of the dynamics of the subjects. The model free adaptive control with a data-driven approach is provided with recursive feasibility, compliance with input constraints, and exponential stability. The experimental results obtained from both non-disabled participants and a participant with spinal cord injury validate the ability of the proposed controller to allocate electrical stimulus for regulating seated knee joint movement in the pre-defined trajectory.