Fang, Juan; Haldimann, Michael; Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Hunt, Kenneth James (2021). Development of an active cable-driven, force-controlled robotic system for walking rehabilitation Frontiers in Neurorobotics, 15 Frontiers Media SA 10.3389/fnbot.2021.651177
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In a parallel development to traditional rigid rehabilitation robotic systems, cable-driven systems are becoming popular. The robowalk expander product uses passive elastic bands in the training of the lower limbs. However, a well-controlled assistance or resistance is desirable for effective walking relearning and muscle training. To achieve well-controlled force during locomotion training with the robowalk expander, we replaced the elastic bands with actuator-driven cables and implemented force control algorithms for regulation of cable tensions. The aim of this work was to develop an active cable-driven robotic system, and to evaluate force control strategies for walking rehabilitation using frequency-domain analysis. The system parameters were determined through experiment-assisted simulation. Then force-feedback lead controllers were developed for static force tracking, and velocity-feedforward lead compensators were implemented to reduce velocity-related disturbances during walking. The technical evaluation of the active cable-driven robotic system showed that force-feedback lead controllers produced satisfactory force tracking in the static tests with a mean error of 5.5%, but in the dynamic tests, a mean error of 13.2% was observed. Further implementation of the velocity-feedforward lead compensators reduced the force tracking error to 9% in dynamic tests. With the combined control algorithms, the active cable-driven robotic system produced constant force within the four cables during walking on the treadmill, with a mean force-tracking error of 10.3%. This study demonstrates that the force control algorithms are technically feasible. The active cable-driven, force-controlled robotic system has the potential to produce user-defined assistance or resistance in rehabilitation and fitness training.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
School of Engineering and Computer Science > Institut für Rehabilitation und Leistungstechnologie IRPT BFH Centres and strategic thematic fields > BFH centre for Health technologies School of Engineering and Computer Science > Institute for Human Centered Engineering (HUCE) > Digital Health Lab |
Name: |
Fang, Juan; Haldimann, Michael; Marchal-Crespo, Laura and Hunt, Kenneth James |
Subjects: |
T Technology > T Technology (General) |
ISSN: |
1662-5218 |
Publisher: |
Frontiers Media SA |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Juan Fang |
Date Deposited: |
20 Dec 2021 15:29 |
Last Modified: |
20 Dec 2021 15:29 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.3389/fnbot.2021.651177 |
ARBOR DOI: |
10.24451/arbor.16096 |
URI: |
https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/16096 |
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