An operating status of a motor in a drive unit is analyzed to extend the life of the motor. A wearable motion assistive device 1 includes a shoulder joint mechanism 5 and an elbow joint mechanism 6 for aiding a movement of the shoulder joint and the elbow joint, and a control unit 100 having a control circuit for controlling drive units 11 for the shoulder and elbow joint mechanisms 5 and 6. The control unit 100 controls the drive units 11 based on a physical quantity and a biosignal detected by an angle sensor, a torque sensor, and a biosignal detecting sensor. A controller in the drive unit 11 includes a motor monitoring unit for monitoring an operational status of the motor, and a motor control unit for limiting a drive signal supplied to the motor based on a monitoring result provided by the motor monitoring unit, in order to prevent an overload state of the motor.

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За последние пять-шесть лет было создано много вариантов интерфейса мозг-компьютер (иллюстрация с сайта bciresearch.org).

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Devices and methods which store and selectively release relatively substantial amounts of energy for enabling individuals to undertake superior performance in locomotion and other physical activities. The different embodiments include a hyperelastic SMA element which stores and releases energy in a differential pulley set, in a hinged knee, and in a pogo stick.

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The IHMC Mobility Assist Exoskeleton is a robotic suit that a user can wear for strength augmentation or gait generation. This first generation exoskeleton prototype focuses on providing walking assistance to persons with lower extremity paralysis. The main goal is to successfully enable a person that cannot walk without assistance to walk in a straight line a distance of 15 feet. When in disable assist mode this prototype will rely on the user to provide balance control, and thus an external means for balancing will be required, such as crutches or a walker. Power and control is off board and supplied to the exoskeleton by means of a tether. Rotary series elastic actuators (RSEAs), which have high force fidelity and low impedance were designed to power the joints. This paper describes the design, test results, future work and potential applications of the exoskeleton.

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The successful motor rehabilitation of stroke, traumatic brain/spinal cord/sport injured patients requires a highly intensive and task-specific therapy based approach. Significant budget, time and logistic constraints limits a direct hand-to-hand therapy approach, so that intelligent assistive machines may offer a solution to promote motor recovery and obtain a better understanding of human motor control. This paper will address the development of a lower limb exoskeleton legs for force augmentation and active assistive walking training. The twin wearable legs are powered by pneumatic muscle actuators (pMAs), an experimental low mass high power to weight and volume actuation system. In addition, the pMA being pneumatic produces a more natural muscle like contact and as such can be considered a soft and biomimetic actuation system. This capacity to «replicate» the function of natural muscle and inherent safety is extremely important when working in close proximity to humans. The integration of the components sections and testing of the performance will also be considered to show how the structure and actuators can be combined to produce the various systems needed for a highly flexible/low weight clinically viable rehabilitation exoskeleton.

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