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A Smooth and Safe Path Planning for an Active Lower Limb Exoskeleton

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Abstract

The Probabilistic Foam method (PFM) is a path planner that ensures a volumetric region for safe maneuverability called bubble. This method generates paths bounded by a set of overlapped bubbles, called rosary. In this paper, we present an approach to obtain safe and smooth collision-free paths from PFM for a lower limb active exoskeleton, which is based on two main processes: The rosary adjustment and the path smoothing. The first process keeps the size of the bubbles more regular, while the second process guarantees a smooth and short path, satisfying the safe constraints imposed by the rosary. To evaluate these proposed approaches, we presented a simulation of the exoskeleton leg performing the swing phase movement in three different scenarios: overcoming an obstacle, walking up and down a step. The resulting planned paths were evaluated and compared, considering the path length and the path smoothness.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Engineering and Automation, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

    Luís B. P. Nascimento, Pablo J. Alsina, Vitor G. Santos, Daniel H. S. Fernandes & Diego S. Pereira

  2. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Universidad Católica San Pablo, Arequipa, Peru

    Dennis Barrios-Aranibar

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  1. Luís B. P. Nascimento
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Correspondence to Luís B. P. Nascimento.

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Nascimento, L.B.P., Barrios-Aranibar, D., Alsina, P.J. et al. A Smooth and Safe Path Planning for an Active Lower Limb Exoskeleton. J Intell Robot Syst 99, 535–553 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-019-01134-7

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