An exoskeleton for the support of a patient’s body is jointed opposite the hip and knee articulations, and is provided with a number of small actuators that are designed to move jointed parts of the exoskeleton in accordance with the human gait. A control unit is programmed to control the operation of the actuators so as to impress on the exoskeleton the movements of the human gait. A remote control for operation of the control unit allows the patient to transmit commands to the unit in order to start or stop the lower limbs, as well as to adjust the step speed. An electronic virtual reality unit transmits to the patient, through a special helmet, virtual reality pictures and stimulation interactive with the walking movement that is impressed by the exoskeleton on the patient’s body. A framework can be used to steady and support the person and allow the person to walk at the same time, and has grips having operating push buttons for the remote control unit. Alternatively, a rail is suspended at a distance from the ground higher than human height for supporting and guiding a ball bearing or a slide slidable inside or on the rail. A metal framework is supported by the ball bearing or slide and provided with two suspenders or rods for supporting the exoskeleton of the patient.

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A device operable to supply a force feedback to a physiological unit to besed as an advanced interface for machines and computers, including an exoskeleton which includes kinematic elements articulated about articulation axes arranged coincident with or in close proximity to the physiological axes of the physiological unit such as, for example, the flexion-extension axes of the phalanges of the fingers of a hand of an operator. A series of electrical actuators controls the degree of tension on traction cables applying a force feedback to the kinematic elements and consequently to the physiological unit, so as to simulate an interaction between the operator and a virtual object. The device includes position sensors for detecting the configuration of the physiological unit and force sensors for measuring the strength of the force locally applied thereto by the actuators controlled by a processing system.

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For many years, the robotic community sought to develop robots that can eventually operate autonomously and eliminate the need for human operators. However, there is an increasing realization that there are some tasks that humans can perform significantly better but, due to associated hazards, distance, physical limitations and other causes, only robots can be employed to perform these tasks. Remotely performing these types of tasks requires operating robots as human surrogates. Such a capability has been the goal of many studies and significant success has been reported in recent years.

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A body-powered prosthetic arm is mountable on a socket attached to the arm stump of a person. The prosthetic arm includes a base for attachment to the socket, a forearm section having a proximal end and a distal end, a terminal device such as a hook, anthropomorphic hand, etc. attached to the distal end of the forearm section for selectively opening or closing, and an elbow joint for joining the proximal end of the forearm section to the base, the elbow joint being pivotable to enable moving the forearm section upwardly or downwardly. Control straps and cables fitted on the person are responsive to body movements of the person for selectively locking the elbow joint to prevent it from pivoting while allowing the terminal device to open or close or locking the terminal device to prevent it from opening or closing while allowing the elbow joint to pivot.

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A human power amplifier includes an end-effector that is grasped by a human operator and applied to a load. The end-effector is suspended, via a line, from a take-up pulley, winch, or drum that is driven by an actuator to lift or lower the load. The end-effector includes a force sensor that measures the vertical force imposed on the end-effector by the operator and delivers a signal to a controller. The controller and actuator are structured in such a way that a predetermined percentage of the force necessary to lift or lower the load is applied by the actuator, with the remaining force being supplied by the operator. The load thus feels lighter to the operator, but the operator does not lose the sense of lifting against both the gravitation and inertial forces originating in the load.

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