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INSPIIRE – A Modular and Passive Exoskeleton to Investigate Human Walking and Balance | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

INSPIIRE – A Modular and Passive Exoskeleton to Investigate Human Walking and Balance

Publisher: IEEE

Abstract:

Powered exoskeletons for SCI patients are mainly limited by their inability to balance dynamically during walking. To investigate and understand the control strategies of...View more

Abstract:

Powered exoskeletons for SCI patients are mainly limited by their inability to balance dynamically during walking. To investigate and understand the control strategies of human bipedal locomotion, we developed INSPIIRE, a passive exoskeleton. This device constrains the movements of able-bodied subjects to only hip and knee flexions and extensions, similar to most current active exoskeletons. In this paper, we detail the modular design and the mechanical implementation of the device. In preliminary experiments, we tested whether humans are able to handle dynamic walking without crutches, despite the limitation of lateral foot placement and locked ankles. Five healthy subjects showed the ability to stand and ambulate at an average speed of 1 m/s after 5 minutes of self-paced training. We found that while the hip abduction/adduction is constrained, the foot placement was made possible thanks to the pelvis yaw and residual flexibility of the exoskeleton segments in the lateral plan. This result points out that INSPIIRE is a reliable instrument to learn sagitally-constrained human locomotion, and the potential of investigating more dynamic walking, which is shown as possible in this implementation, even if only flexion/extension of the hip and knee are allowed.
Date of Conference: 24-28 September 2023
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 08 November 2023
ISBN Information:

ISSN Information:

PubMed ID: 37941274
Publisher: IEEE
Conference Location: Singapore, Singapore

References

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