A wearable action-assist device which assists or executes an action of a wearer by substituting for the wearer is provided with an action-assist tool 2 having an actuator 201 which gives power to the wearer 1, a biosignal sensor 221 which detects a wearer’s biosignal, a biosignal processing unit 3 which acquires from a biosignal “a” detected by the biosignal sensor a nerve transfer signal “b” for operating a wearer’s muscular line skeletal system, and a myoelectricity signal “c” accompanied with a wearer’s muscular line activity, an optional control unit 4 which generates a command signal “d” for causing the actuator 201 to generate power according to the wearer’s intention using the nerve transfer signal “b” and the myoelectricity signal “c” acquired by the biosignal processing unit 3, and a driving current generating unit 5 which generates a current according to the nerve transfer signal b and a current according to the myoelectricity signal “c”, respectively, based on the command signal “d” generated by the optional control unit 4, and supplies the currents to the actuator 201.

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In monkeys, activity of multiple single neurons related to arm movement can be employed to control an external actuator. Based on this work, there is an increasing interest in designing implantable brain-machine interfaces (BMI), enabling real-time control of neuroprosthetic devices. Such movement inference has been demonstrated in humans, but little is yet known about the possibility to decode information for the control of reaching and grasping from different sensorimotor areas activated by hand movements. Evidently, specificity and longterm stability of the recorded signals is essential for successful brain-machine interface applications. Thus, a promising novel approach for robust neurointerfacing is based on neuronal population activity, instead of multiple single neuron activity. Earlier, we demonstrated that local field potentials from monkey primary motor cortex can be as efficient as single neuron activity for decoding arm movements. I will give an overview of these results and present more recent findings, aimed at studying the feasibility of inferring hand movements in humans from population activity measured with electrodes on the cortical surface or even from the scalp.

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Many of the current implementations of exoskeletons for the lower extremities are conceived to either augment the user’s load-carrying capabilities or reduce muscle activa-tion during walking. Comparatively little research has been conducted on enabling an exoskeleton to increase the agility of lower-limb movements. One obstacle in this regard is the inertia of the exoskele-ton’s mechanism, which tends to reduce the natural frequency of the human limbs. A control method is presented that produces an approximate compensation of the inertia of an exoskeleton’s mechanism. The con-troller was tested on a statically mounted, single-degree-offreedom (DOF) exoskeleton that assists knee flexion and extension. Test subjects performed multiple series of leg-swing movements in the context of a computer-based, sprint-like task. A large initial acceleration of the leg was needed for the subjects to track a virtual target on a computer screen. The uncompensated inertia of the exoskeleton mechanism slowed down the transient response of the subjects’ limb, in comparison with trials performed without the exoske-leton. The subsequent use of emulated inertia compensation on the exoskeleton allowed the subjects to improve their transient response for the same task.

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Many of the current implementations of exoskeletons for the lower extremi-ties are conceived to either augment the user’s load-carrying capabilities or reduce muscle activation during walking. Comparatively little research has been conducted on enabling an exoskeleton to increase the agility of lower-limb movements. One obstacle in this regard is the inertia of the exoskeleton’s mechanism, which tends to reduce the natural frequency of the human limbs. A control method is presented that produces an approximate compensation of the inertia of an exoskeleton’s mechanism. The controller was tested on a statically mounted, single-degree-offreedom (DOF) exoskeleton that assists knee flexion and extension. Test subjects performed multiple series of leg-swing movements in the context of a computer-based, sprint-like task. A large initial acceleration of the leg was needed for the subjects to track a virtual target on a computer screen. The uncompensated inertia of the exoskeleton mechanism slowed down the transient response of the subjects’ limb, in comparison with trials performed without the exoskeleton. The subsequent use of emulated inertia compensation on the exoskeleton allowed the subjects to improve their transient response for the same task.

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[Problem to be Solved] It is an object of the present invention to reduce energy consumed when a rotary apparatus is used and to suppress abrasion and breakage on the rotary apparatus and a driving apparatus which drives the rotary apparatus. [Means for Solving the Problem] Provided is a rotation adjustment apparatus (1) comprising a rotary apparatus (10) which has a plurality of members coupled to each other via a plurality of rotation axes, the rotary apparatus providing a rotational movement of one of the members rotating around the rotation axis with respect to another one of the members; and a rotation restraining means (30, 72) which restrains at least one of a plurality of rotational movements provided by the rotary apparatus.

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