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Estimation of the User’s Muscular Torque for an Over-ground Gait Rehabilitation Robot Using Torque and Insole Pressure Sensors

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  • Robot and Applications
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Abstract

This study demonstrates a method to precisely estimate the muscular torque of a human user precisely during the use of over-ground gait rehabilitation robot which features the lower limb exoskeleton equipped with torque sensors in the hip and knee joints. The muscular torque is a very important criterion on the state of rehabilitation. The torque sensors in each joint, however, do not provide the exact muscular efforts since the dynamics of lower limb and the ground reaction forces (GRF) affect the torque. In this research, the limb dynamics are formulated, and their parameters are identified for each user to precisely compensate for the dynamic effect from the torque measurement during the swing motion. In addition, the method of estimating the user’s muscular torque in consideration of the vertical GRF during stance phase is suggested. A shoe insole with pressure sensors measures the vertical GRF, and the effect of vertical GRF on hip and knee joint torque is formulated for the inverse-dynamicsbased muscular torque estimation. The EMG has been used to analyze the muscular torque and the function of muscle in many studies and was used to validate the accuracy of the proposed method of muscular torque estimation. The experimental comparison between the estimated torque and EMG measurements show that the torque sensors and insole pressure sensors accurately estimate the muscular torque during the swing and stance phase of over-ground walking.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul, 121-742, Korea

    Beomsoo Hwang & Doyoung Jeon

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  1. Beomsoo Hwang
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  2. Doyoung Jeon
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Correspondence to Doyoung Jeon.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Changchun Hua under the direction of Editor Fuchun Sun. This journal was supported by the Dual-Use Technology Program of METIE/DAPA/CMTC.[13-DU-MC-16], High speed lower-limb exoskeleton robot control at rough terrain.

Beomsoo Hwang received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Sogang University, Seoul, Korea, in 2007, 2009, and 2016. His current research interests include sensors for biomechatronics systems, and the design and control of humaninteractive robotics such as rehabilitation robots and exoskeleton systems.

Doyoung Jeon received the B.S. degree from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1984 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1986 and 1991, respectively, all in Mechanical Engineering. In 1994, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul, where he was the Dean of Research from 2004 to 2005. His current research interests include the general areas of control systems, such as exoskeletal robots, rehabilitation robots, capsule endoscopes, and servo control of advanced manufacturing machines. He was a committee member of the Korean Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology from 2005 to 2006 and the Korean Presidential Commission on Policy Planning from 2002 to 2008.

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Hwang, B., Jeon, D. Estimation of the User’s Muscular Torque for an Over-ground Gait Rehabilitation Robot Using Torque and Insole Pressure Sensors. Int. J. Control Autom. Syst. 16, 275–283 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-016-0545-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-016-0545-1

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