An Ankle–Foot Prosthesis Emulator With Control of Plantarflexion and Inversion–Eversion Torque

Abstract

Ankle inversion–eversion compliance is an important feature of conventional prosthetic feet, and control of inversion, or roll, in active prostheses could improve balance for people with amputation. We designed a tethered ankle–foot prosthesis with two independently actuated toes that are coordinated to provide plantar-flexion and inversion–eversion torques. A Bowden cable tether provides series elasticity. The prosthesis is simple and lightweight, with a mass of 0.72 kg. Strain gauges on the toes measure torque with less than 1% root mean squared (RMS) error. Benchtop tests demonstrated a step response rise time of less than 33 ms, peak torques of 250 N $\cdot$ m in plantarflexion and $\pm$ 30 N $\cdot$ m in inversion–eversion, and peak power above 3 kW. The phase-limited closed-loop torque bandwidth is 20 Hz with a chirp from 10 to 90 N $\cdot$ m in plantarflexion, and 24 Hz with a chirp from $-$ 20 to 20 N $\cdot$ m in inversion. The system has low sensitivity to toe position disturbances at frequencies of up to 18 Hz. Walking trials with an amputee subject demonstrated RMS torque tracking errors of less than 5.1 N $\cdot$ m in plantarflexion and less than 1.5 N $\cdot$ m in inversion–eversion. These properties make the platform suitable for testing inversion-related prosthesis features and controllers in experiments with humans.