Motion Capture and MultiBody Simulations to Determine Actuation Requirements for an Assistive Exoskeleton

Daniel Sá Pina, Joaquim Gabriel, Renato Natal

2019

Abstract

EUROSTAT's projections show that, by 2040, the people aged 65 or more will account to almost one fourth of the population. These statistics raise concerns over the sustainability of the society, so technological solutions have been emerging to prolong the active age of European citizens. One of the main impairments for elders is an increasing difficulty in performing daily lower-limb activities (i.e. walking, climbing stairs) due to Sarcopenia, among other issues. Therefore, the authors are developing an active exoskeleton whose sole purpose is to assist the gait of an elderly person. The proposed system is based on a low-profile design, allowing a smaller frame that allows the device to be worn beneath loose clothing, making it more desirable to wear in public by reducing social awkwardness. This article shows the methodology used to determine the actuation requirements for the exoskeleton. Two subjects performed a number of trials depicting daily life activities in a biomechanics laboratory that acquires motion sensor and force-plate data. Each activity was performed with additional weights to emulate the presence of an exoskeleton. The data was used in a multibody simulation program (OpenSim) to determine the requirements (angular speed, torque) for the actuation system in the exoskeleton.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Pina D., Gabriel J. and Natal R. (2019). Motion Capture and MultiBody Simulations to Determine Actuation Requirements for an Assistive Exoskeleton. In Proceedings of the 12th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2019) - Volume 1: BIODEVICES; ISBN 978-989-758-353-7, SciTePress, pages 183-191. DOI: 10.5220/0007403601830191

in Bibtex Style

@conference{biodevices19,
author={Daniel Sá Pina and Joaquim Gabriel and Renato Natal},
title={Motion Capture and MultiBody Simulations to Determine Actuation Requirements for an Assistive Exoskeleton},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 12th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2019) - Volume 1: BIODEVICES},
year={2019},
pages={183-191},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0007403601830191},
isbn={978-989-758-353-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 12th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2019) - Volume 1: BIODEVICES
TI - Motion Capture and MultiBody Simulations to Determine Actuation Requirements for an Assistive Exoskeleton
SN - 978-989-758-353-7
AU - Pina D.
AU - Gabriel J.
AU - Natal R.
PY - 2019
SP - 183
EP - 191
DO - 10.5220/0007403601830191
PB - SciTePress