Wearable Robotics
"Development of a 5-DOF Impedance-Controlled Wearable Upper Limb Robotic Exoskeleton"
Role: Post-Baccalaureate Research Assistant & Undergraduate Research Mentor
In this research, a portable and 5-DOF wearable upper-limb robotic exoskeleton is developed, which eases mobility and reduces the physical damage of workers who lift loads, as well as increases the mobility of people with weak muscles. The mechanical structure of the wearable robot is designed to provide wrist pronation-supination, elbow flexion-extension, shoulder lateral rotation, abduction-adduction, and flexion-extension movements. We controlled our robot, which can perform active and resistant movements, with the force-based impedance control method, as it provides an effective human-machine interaction by empirically adjusting the inertia, stiffness, and damping parameters in the dynamic equations.
A low-cost wearable EMG sensor system is developed to measure the muscle activation level of the user and calculate the maximal voluntary contraction value while using the robot, and give feedback to the user. Additionally, a load-damping system consisting of four springs and fasteners was added to the back of the robot, reducing the weight felt by the user. While the main parts of the prototype are made of 6013 aluminum, some of the parts are produced from PLA plastic with a 3D printer.
Raspberry Pi 4B was used as the controller in the hardware of the system, analog force data was measured with 50 kgF S-type load cells, and position data was measured by hall sensors on the motors. Since the shoulder and elbow flexion-extension movement axes are the movement axes that people use most when lifting loads in daily life, the actuators were positioned in the elbow and shoulder flexion-extension movement axes. We observed that the robotic exoskeleton, to which we implemented a force-based impedance control method to assist the user while lifting the load, assisted the biceps muscle 99% of the time while lifting weight in the elbow flexion-extension axis.
Research Outputs:
Publications:
1. Dikbas, F. E. H. M., Aydogan, O., Aydin, I., Cetin, D., Emin Aktan, M., & Akdogan, E. (2023). Development of A 5-DOF Impedance-Controlled Wearable Upper Limb Exoskeletal Robot. Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology
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Competition Awards:
1. Finalist, TEKNOFEST Aerospace and Technology Festival 2021, Technology for Humanity Competition, Health and First Aid Category (Undergraduate and Graduate Level), Sept. 2021
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Invited Talks:
1. You Wear It Well Podcast: Wearable robotic exoskeleton design for the shoulder area, Oct. 2023
2. You Wear It Well Podcast: Medical conditions for wearable robotics, Nov. 2022