The subject of the invention concerns an exoskeletal system with: an exoskeletal weight-bearing structure composed of a reference structure and at least one mechanical segment, resources for acquiring movements and movement intentions, composed of resources for time related measurement of the effort coming from at least one biological segment and time-dependent resources for detecting the direction of the movements or movement intentions of these segments, resources for acquiring the spatial position of the mechanical segments in relation to the reference structure, operating resources providing the motor-power for the articulated mechanical segments, and control resources connected at their inputs to the movement and position acquisition resources, and at their outputs to the operating resources in order to control them.

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Using CMU actuators, a Prototype of Mechanical Assistance Device for the Wrist’s Flexion Movement (PMA) was developed and probed in a mechanical model, in order to be implemented in a future as a dynamic powered orthosis or as a rehabilitation assistant instrument. Two Mayor Actuators conformed by three CMU actuators arranged in a series configuration, allows to an artificial hand to be placed in four predefined positions: 0°, 20°, 40° and 60°. The synchronism and control of the actuators is achieved with the Programmable Control Module (PCM). It is capable to drive up to six CMU actuators, and possess two different modes of execution: a Manual mode and an Exercise mode. In the Manual Mode, the position of the hand responds directly to the commands of the keyboard of the front panel, and in the Exercise mode, the hand realizes a repetitive and programmed movement. The prototype was tested in 100 positions in the Manual Mode and for 225 works cycles in the Exercise Mode. The relative repetition error was less than 5% for both test. This prototype only consumes 4,15W, which makes it possible to be powered by small rechargeable batteries, allowing its use as a portable device.

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PAWL (power assist walking leg) represents a high integration of robotics, information technology, communication, control engineering, signal processing and etc. Today, trends in robotics research are changing from industrial applications to non-industrial applications, such as service robots, medical robots, humanoid robots, personal robots and so on. Human ability to perform physical tasks is limited not only by intelligence, but also by physical strength (Kazerooni, 1990). Our research on robot is using mechanism to augment human muscle and capability of sense during walking; synchronously, it can hold human agility and sense of direct operation. The primary task of this project is to develop a power assist walking support leg (shown in Fig.1) which not only amplifies strength of human legs and enhances endurance during walking, but also reduces user inner force.

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The development of new robotic devices for rehabilitation can lead to new and more efficient therapeutic procedures. Moreover, the use of VR-based scenarios in which patients perform rehabilitation exercises dramatically increases the patients¿ motivation and thus the final therapy outcome. In this paper preliminary results of a pilot study carried out with an exoskeleton for the robotic assisted rehabilitation of the upper limb are presented. The paper briefly describes the main kinematic and mechanical features of the exoskeleton system, showing its peculiar characteristics which make it useful for rehabilitation purposes. The implementation of three different robotic schemes of therapy in virtual reality with this exoskeleton, based on an impedance control architecture, are presented and discussed in detail. Finally, qualitative and quantitative results obtained in a 6 week pilot study with three chronic stroke patients are reported.

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We have been developing a 4DOF exoskeleton robot system in order to assist shoulder vertical motion, shoulder horizontal motion, elbow motion, and forearm motion of physically weak persons such as elderly, injured, or disabled persons. The robot is directly attached to a user’s body and activated based on EMG (electromyogram) signals of the user’s muscles, since the EMG signals directly reflect the user’s motion intention. A neuro-fuzzy controller has been applied to control the exoskeleton robot system. In this paper, controller adaptation method to user’s EMG signals is proposed. A motion indicator is introduced to indicate the motion intention of the user for the controller adaptation. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

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