Title: Development of human lower extremity kinematic and dynamic models for exoskeleton robot based physical therapy

Authors: S.K. Hasan; Anoop Dhingra

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, 3200 N Cramer street, Room 503, Milwaukee, WI-53211, USA ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, 3200 N Cramer street, Room 503, Milwaukee, WI-53211, USA

Abstract: The World Health Organization reports that approximately one billion people are disabled in the world. Exoskeleton robot-based physical therapy is an appealing solution for a large number of disabled people. Mechanical design, modelling, and control of exoskeleton robots require anthropometric data. A majority of anthropometrical data is not readily available from a single source. Furthermore, seven degrees of freedom human lower extremity kinematic and dynamic models are also not available. This paper presents dynamic modelling and simulation of the human lower extremity. The dynamic simulation utilises a computed torque controller (CTC). A sliding mode controller (SMC) is also developed for practical applications. Simulation results show the performance of the controller, joint torque, and power requirements for tracking a specified trajectory. Because of its performance in the presence of simulated disturbances and parameter variations, it is seen that the SMC is an effective choice for controlling a real robot.

Keywords: physiotherapy; exoskeleton robot; lower extremity anthropometric parameters; SMC; sliding mode controller; lower extremity kinematic; dynamic model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIC.2020.111619

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control, 2020 Vol.34 No.3, pp.245 - 264

Received: 13 Aug 2019
Accepted: 12 Feb 2020
Published online: 04 Dec 2020 *

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