Exoskeleton systems have been largely developed in spite that quantitative performance estimation has not been reported so far. Consequently, we have been developing the wearable muscle suit for direct and physical motion supports with relevant reports on the performance. The McKibben artificial muscle has introduced “muscle suit” compact, lightweight, reliable, and wearable “assist-bots” enabling users to lift and carry heavy objects. Applying integral electromyo-graphy (IEMG), we show the results of quantitative suit performance and posture-preserving efficiency. However, for practical use, lifting seems to be one of the most important tasks for users. We improve the forearm so that the muscle suit assists the user in vertical lifting. Load carrying and lifting experi-ments show the muscle suit’s effectiveness.

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Производство новых бронежилетов с вставками из высокомодульного полиэтилена наладили в одном из столичных НИИ. Производство новых бронежилетов с вставками из высокомодульного полиэтилена наладили в одном из столичных НИИ.

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The ankle, knee and hip all undergo stretch‐shortening cycles during human locomotion. Thus, there is potential for energy storage and return at each of these joints. It is known that joints such as the ankle and even the knee can be replaced entirely by passive mechanical substitutes and still result in highly successful performances in running and sprinting. Initial studies with apparel containing elastic elements crossing posteriorly on the hip joint to store energy during the swing phase and return energy during the stance phase indicated that vertical jumping, sprinting and running performance can be significantly improved. Tests were performed on ten elite athletes using two apparel conditions: a loose fitting t‐shirt and shorts (control) and a garment with elastic bands. Average performance benefits were up to 2% and individual benefits were over 4% for certain athletes. Many questions arise from this research:  What stiffness is required for optimal performance?  Where should the elastic elements be placed to optimize performance? For example should they be more medial or more lateral?  Where should the elastic elements be anchored for optimal performance? Building individual prototypes to answer all of these questions is very time consuming and expensive. Thus, it is desirable to design an adjustable harness or exoskeleton system that allows experimentation into the effect of these different variables (stiffness, placement, anchoring, etc. of the elastic elements). This apparatus will allow the search criteria to be narrowed to economically and functionally viable solutions that can then be implemented into apparel prototypes. In this report the process of designing the apparatus is described. The final outcome is a design using elastic belts and a design using an exoskeleton. Also side projects including EMG‐measurements, highspeed recordings of several shoes are described.

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This chapter presents an experimental study of upper-limb surface EMG signals and two cases of applying surface EMG signals to control an upper-limb exoskeleton robot. The applied method to process surface EMG signals to use as input information to the control method is also explained. At first, surface EMG signal extraction method and processing method are presented in this chap-ter. Then, the upper-limb muscle activities during daily upper-limb motions have been studied to enable exoskeleton robots to estimate human upper-limb motions based on EMG signals of related muscles. The muscle combinations are identified to separate some motions of upper-limb. Minimum number of muscles to extract signals to control frequent daily upper-limb motions has been identified. In the next step, EMG signal of identified muscles are used to control two upper-limb exoskeleton robots. A three degree of freedom (DOF) exoskeleton robot (W-EXOS) for the forearm pronation/supination, wrist flexion/extension and ulnar/radial deviation are controlled by applying the surface EMG signals of six muscles. Surface EMG signals of upper-limb muscles are applied as input information to control a 6DOF exoskeleton robot (SUEFUL-6). In each case of applying EMG signals experiments have been carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the EMG based control method.

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Research in the area of legged robotic systems has spanned almost the entire history of modern robotics. IFToMM has played a crucial role in this history by providing a channel of communication between East and West during the cold war period, and via its Technical Committee on Robotics in more recent years. In this chapter we have attempted an overview of what has become a vigorous field of research.

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