Geriatric Walk Assist Robot - Design, Analysis and Implementation of a Modular Lower Limb Exoskeleton Robot

Abstract

Among the problems of major concern faced by the geriatric community the fore most is considered to be: “as we grow older it gets difficult to walk”. As they lose their strength to withstand their weight they become weak to walk on their own. Through this project a design is proposed for an assistive modular lower limb exoskeleton robot to enable aged people to walk on their own. The design is mainly based on the amplification of the pressure applied on the thighs and ankles of the legs and these pressures are used to move the legs of the robot which support the legs of the user. Since the user is capable of generating a minimum pressure on their own the working of the gait pattern is mainly based on the movement of knee and ankle, and so only the knee and the ankle are considered in this design. Another reason is that the major weight of the body acts on the knee and the foot while walking. The working of the robot is mainly based on the layered control algorithm embedded on the microcontroller acting through the sensors and actuators. Pressure sensors are used to measure the applied pressure and electrical actuators are used due to their lesser weight. Based on the experimental results obtained with the working robot the design would be fine-tuned for optimized performance.