Adaptive Robust Control with Leakage-Type Control Law for Trajectory Tracking of Exoskeleton Robots

This paper investigates the trajectory following problem of exoskeleton robots with numerous constraints. However, as a typical nonlinear system with variability and parameter uncertainty, it is difficult to accurately achieve the trajectory tracking control for exoskeletons. In this paper, we present a robust control of trajectory tracking control based on servo constraints. Firstly, we consider the uncertainties (e.g., modelling errors, initial condition deviations, structural vibrations, and other unknown external disturbances) in the exoskeleton system, which are time-varying and bounded. Secondly, we establish the dynamic model and formulate a close-loop connection between the dynamic model and the real world. Then, the trajectory tracking issue is regarded as a servo constraint problem, and an adaptive robust control with leakage-type adaptive law is proposed with the guaranteed Lyapunov stability. Finally, we conduct numerical simulations to verify the performance of the proposed controller.

WALK-ASSISTING BALANCE SYSTEM OF THE EXOSKELETON ROBOT FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

A novel methodology for a walk-assisting balance system of the exoskeleton robot for dis-abled people is presented. The experiment on the walk-assisting balance system is implemented using amini-type ropewalker robot. The mechanism of the ropewalker robot is designed, its dynamic model isbuilt, and its control system based on PWM is developed. The emulations in Matlab and the results ofexperiments prove that this methodology is effective.

A Review on Lower Limb Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robots

Lower limb rehabilitation exoskeleton robots integrate sensing, control, and other technologies and exhibit the characteristics of bionics, robotics, information and control science, medicine, and other interdisciplinary areas. In this review, the typical products and prototypes of lower limb exoskeleton rehabilitation robots are introduced and stateof-the-art techniques are analyzed and summarized. Because the goal of rehabilitation training is to recover patients’ sporting ability to the normal level, studying the human gait is the foundation of lower limb exoskeleton rehabilitation robot research. Therefore, this review critically evaluates research progress in human gait analysis and systematically summarizes developments in the mechanical design and control of lower limb rehabilitation exoskeleton robots. From the performance of typical prototypes, it can be deduced that these robots can be connected to human limbs as wearable forms;further, it is possible to control robot movement at each joint to simulate normal gait and drive the patient’s limb to realize robot-assisted rehabilitation training. Therefore human–robot integration is one of the most important research directions, and in this context, rigid-flexible-soft hybrid structure design, customized personalized gait generation, and multimodal information fusion are three key technologies.

Technical Analysis of Exoskeleton Robot

Recently, the need for exoskeleton robots has been increased due to the advancement of robotic technologies and changes in the concept of how the robots can be utilized in direct contact with human bodies. The robots, once only used on the factory floor, are now becoming a part of human bodies, which provides the unprecedented level of muscle power boost and the increase of running speed. If used very carefully, the exoskeleton robots can be also used for patients’ rehabilitation. The exoskeleton robots have many potential application areas;?hence most advanced countries are currently developing various types of exoskeleton robots. Those robots can be classified into two major categories, namely the rigid type and the soft type. Each type has own advantages and disadvantages, while the carrying load capacity and the actuation speed can be quite different. There are also many technical difficulties in order to use the exoskeleton robots in the field. The aim of this study is, therefore, to introduce the trends of exoskeleton robot development in advanced countries, while providing the analysis on the technical merits and downside of robot types. The comparison chart also indicates the major technical directions, in which the future technology will be headed for, such as the improved robot response characteristics by employing advanced sensors and artificial intelligence. The robots are becoming smarter, lighter, and more powerful. It is foreseeable that the wearable robots can be a part of human life in the very near future.

An Investigation of Exoskeleton Robotic Systems in Assisting Construction Tasks*

Whilst industrial robots have been widely used in many industrial sectors, they are predominantly used in a structured factory environment. In recent years, off-site robotics have been investigated extensively and there are some promising candidates emerging. One such category of robots is exoskeleton robots and this paper provides an in-depth assessment of their suitability in assisting human operators in undertaking manual operations typically found in the construction industry. This work aims to objectively assess the advantages and disadvantages of these two suits and provide recommendations for further improvements of similar system designs. The paper focuses on the passive exoskeleton robotic suits which are commercially available. Three types of activities are designed and a mechatronic methodology has been designed and implemented to capture visual data in order to assess these systems in comparison with normal human operations. The study suggests that these passive suits do reduce the effort required by human operators to undertake the same construction tasks as evidenced by the results from one focused study, though a number of improvements could be made to improve their performance for wider adoption.

Review of Power-Assisted Lower Limb Exoskeleton Robot

Power-assisted lower limb exoskeleton robot is a wearable intelligent robot system involving mechanics,materials,electronics,control,robotics,and many other fields.The system can use external energy to provide additional power to humans,enhance the function of the human body,and help the wearer to bear weight that is previously unbearable.At the same time,employing reasonable structure design and passive energy storage can also assist in specific actions.First,this paper introduces the research status of power-assisted lower limb exoskeleton robots at home and abroad,and analyzes several typical prototypes in detail.Then,the key technologies such as structure design,driving mode,sensing technology,control method,energy management,and human-machine coupling are summarized,and some common design methods of the exoskeleton robot are summarized and compared.Finally,the existing problems and possible solutions in the research of power-assisted lower limb exoskeleton robots are summarized,and the prospect of future development trend has been analyzed.

Radial basis function‐based exoskeleton robot controller development

The realisation of a model‐based controller for a robot with a higher degree of freedom requires a substantial amount of computational power.A high‐speed CPU is required to maintain a higher sampling rate.Multicore processors cannot boost the performance or reduce the execution time as the programs are sequentially structured.The neural network is a great tool to convert a sequentially structured program to an equivalent parallel architecture program.In this study,a radial basis function(RBF)neural network is developed for controlling 7 degrees of freedom of the human lower extremity exoskel-eton robot.A realistic friction model is used for modelling joint friction.High trajectory tracking accuracies have been obtained.Evidence of computational efficiency has been observed.The stability analysis of the developed controller is presented.Analysis of variance is used to assess the controller's resilience to parameter variation.To show the effectiveness of the developed controller,a comparative study was performe between the developed RBF network‐based controller and Sliding Mode Controller,Computed Tor-que Controller,Adaptive controller,Linear Quadratic Regulator and Model Reference Computed Torque Controller.

Robotic exoskeletons: The current pros and cons

Robotic exoskeletons have emerged as rehabilitation tool that may ameliorate several of the existing healthrelated consequences after spinal cord injury(SCI).However,evidence to support its clinical application is still lacking considering their prohibitive cost.The current mini-review is written to highlight the main limitations and potential benefits of using exoskeletons in the rehabilitation of persons with SCI.We have recognized two main areas relevant to the design of exoskeletons and to their applications on major health consequences after SCI.The design prospective refers to safety concerns,fitting time and speed of exoskeletons.The health prospective refers to factors similar to body weight,physical activity,pressure injuries and bone health.Clinical trials are currently underway to address some of these limitations and to maximize the benefits in rehabilitation settings.Future directions highlight the need to use exoskeletons in conjunction with other existing and emerging technologies similar to functional electrical stimulation and brain-computer interface to address major limitations.Exoskeletons have the potential to revolutionize rehabilitation following SCI;however,it is still premature to make solid recommendations about their clinical use after SCI.

结合Udwadia-Kalaba控制理论的下肢外骨骼步态轨迹跟踪控制

针对现有轨迹跟踪控制方法较难兼顾控制精度与稳定性的问题,提出一种基于Udwadia-Kalaba(U-K)控制理论的鲁棒控制方法。基于拉格朗日法建立机器人动力学模型,将动力学参数分为确定的名义部分与不确定部分;结合U-K理论与系统名义部分参数确定外骨骼机器人系统理想运动轨迹约束下的名义部分控制力矩;为消除机器人系统不确定部分的影响,引入鲁棒控制器,通过划分不确定性边界确定其应输出的额外控制力矩。仿真结果表明:相较于传统PID算法,基于U-K控制理论的鲁棒控制的外骨骼机器人髋关节、膝关节角度的轨迹跟踪控制精度分别提高了76.4%和96.8%。基于设计的下肢外骨骼机器人样机进行轨迹跟踪对比实验,实验结果表明:基于该方法的下肢外骨骼髋关节、膝关节角度的轨迹跟踪精度为0.467 0°和0.114 1°,相比作为对照的PID算法,分别提高了82.6%和86.8%,同时系统整体控制周期缩短了56.6%,该控制方法具有更高的同步性、控制精度与稳定性。

肌电生物反馈疗法与脊髓损伤患者运动功能的恢复

背景:肌电生物反馈技术具有非侵入性、实时反馈、个性化治疗和促进神经可塑性等独特优势,加速了脊髓损伤患者的功能恢复。目的:综述肌电生物反馈联合运动疗法、外骨骼机器人以及虚拟现实技术在脊髓损伤运动功能恢复中的应用现状及治疗效果。方法:应用计算机检索中国知网、PubMed数据库建库至2024年5月期间的相关文献,英文检索词为“Spinal cord injury,EMG biofeedback,physical therapy,robotic exoskeleton,VR,motor function,exercise”,中文检索词为“脊髓损伤,肌电生物反馈,运动疗法,外骨骼机器人,虚拟现实,运动功能,运动”,最终纳入71篇文献进行综述。结果与结论:肌电生物反馈疗法促进脊髓损伤康复的机制包括促进神经可塑性变化、增强神经肌肉连接和改善运动模式。肌电生物反馈作为新兴的技术手段,通常与运动疗法、外骨骼机器人以及虚拟现实联合用于脊髓损伤后运动功能的恢复,综合治疗效果得到明显提升。然而目前仍存在一些问题和挑战,例如缺乏机制的详细解析、缺少为结合疗效提供有力证据的大规模试验、技术适应性有限等。未来的研究可以集中在这些方面:提高肌电生物反馈的个性化和精准性;可以探索将肌电生物反馈与更先进的技术或工学设备相结合开发新型康复设备,扩大应用领域;将肌电生物反馈应用到步态训练系统、呼吸训练系统以及四肢联动康复系统中,提高反馈的准确性和个性化治疗方案的效果,同时提高设备的易用性和舒适性。

人工智能在脊髓神经损伤与修复领域研究热点的可视化分析

背景:近年来人工智能逐渐兴起,在多方面应用于脊髓神经损伤与修复领域,对临床治疗也有诸多积极影响。目的:研究人工智能在脊髓神经损伤与修复领域的诊断、治疗和康复中的应用进展,明确该领域的研究热点和不足,为今后研究工作提供建议。方法:在Web of Science核心集数据库检索建库至2023年收录的人工智能在脊髓神经损伤与修复领域相关文献,使用CiteSpace 6.1.R6和VOSviewer 1.6.19软件对文献数据进行一般文献学分析、文献共被引、期刊共被引、期刊双图叠加及关键词聚类等可视化分析。结果与结论:①共筛选出1713篇文章,此领域年发文量呈波动上升趋势,其中美国占据主导地位,Kadone Hideki是发文量最多的作者,《ARCH PHYS MED REHAB》是被引用次数最多的期刊。②关键词共现和聚类分析显示,去除与检索词相近的关键词后,主要关键词被分为3个主要集群:外骨骼与运动康复(为最大核心热点)、机器学习和神经可塑性、机器人和康复训练。③关键词爆发分析显示,深度学习和人工智能在过去5年中已成为突发术语。④文献共被引和高被引文献分析结果显示,人工智能在脊髓神经损伤与修复领域热点集中于动力外骨骼(powered exoskeleton)、步态(gait)、神经电刺激(electrical nerve stimulation)、皮质内脑机接口(intracortical brain-computer interface,IBCI)、机器人(robot)、高分子生物材料(polymer biomaterials)及神经干细胞(neural stem cell)等内容。⑤人工智能在脊髓神经损伤与修复领域的研究近年来呈现上升趋势,该领域的关注点从外骨骼、电刺激等单一的治疗手段,逐渐向智能化、精准化和个性化等方向转变。⑥该领域存在一些局限性,例如数据缺失或不平衡的后果、数据准确性和可重复性低以及伦理问题(如隐私、研究透明度和临床可靠性等),未来的研究应该解决数据收集的问题,需要大样本、高质量的临床数据集来建立有效的人工智能模型;同时该领域的基因组学等机制研究十分薄弱,未来可利用类脑芯片等多种机器学习技术,运用基因编辑治疗及单细胞空间转录组等方法,进行再生相关基因上调和轴突生长结构蛋白产生等基础机制研究。

下肢医疗康复外骨骼机器人的研究进展

介绍了国内外下肢医疗康复外骨骼机器人的研究现状及其结构和工作原理,分析了下肢医疗康复外骨骼机器人的关键技术,指出了能源续航、安全性和舒适性、个性化与智能化控制、模块化和轻量化是下肢医疗康复外骨骼机器人的未来发展方向。

外骨骼机器人步态训练系统联合经颅直流电刺激对脑梗死患者下肢运动功能及步行能力恢复的疗效研究

目的:探讨外骨骼机器人步态训练系统联合经颅直流电刺激(tDCS)对脑梗死患者下肢运动功能及步行能力恢复的疗效。方法:选取2022年1月—2023年12月于西安大兴医院治疗的脑梗死患者120例作为研究对象,采用随机数表法将其分为对照组、机器人组、tDCS组和联合治疗组,每组30例。四组患者均接受常规康复治疗,机器人组在此基础上增加外骨骼机器人步态训练,tDCS组增加tDCS治疗,联合治疗组同时接受外骨骼机器人步态训练和tDCS治疗。于治疗前、治疗4周及治疗8周分别评估患者的下肢运动功能、平衡功能、步行能力及日常生活活动能力及神经可塑性。结果:治疗4周和8周后,四组患者的Fugl-Meyer下肢运动功能量表(FMA-LE)评分、Berg平衡量表(BBS)评分、10米步行测试(10MWT)、功能性步行量表(FAC)评分、改良Barthel指数(MBI)评分、脑卒中专用生活量表(SS-QOL)评分及运动诱发电位(MEP)潜伏期和波幅均较治疗前显著改善(P<0.05)。与对照组相比,机器人组和tDCS组的各项评分均显著提高(P<0.05)。联合治疗组在FMA-LE、BBS、10MWT、FAC、SS-QOL评分及MEP潜伏期和波幅方面显著优于其他三组(P<0.05),MBI评分优于对照组和tDCS组(P<0.05),但与机器人组差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:外骨骼机器人步态训练系统和tDCS均能有效改善脑梗死患者的下肢运动功能、步行能力、日常生活活动能力和生活质量。两种方法联合应用具有协同效应,可能通过促进神经可塑性,加速运动功能的康复,为脑梗死患者的康复治疗提供了新的有效方案。

Proceeding of Human Exoskeleton Technology and Discussions on Future Research

After more than half a century of intense efforts, the development of exoskeleton has seen major advances, and several remarkable achievements have been made. Reviews of developing history of exoskeleton are presented, both in active and passive categories. Major models are introduced, and typical technologies are commented on. Difficulties in control algorithm, driver system, power source, and man-machine interface are discussed. Current researching routes and major developing methods are mapped and critically analyzed, and in the process, some key problems are revealed. First, the exoskeleton is totally different from biped robot, and relative studies based on the robot technologies are considerably incorrect. Second, biomechanical studies are only used to track the motion of the human body, the interaction between human and machines are seldom studied. Third, the traditional developing ways which focused on servo-controlling have inborn deficiency from making portable systems. Research attention should be shifted to the human side of the coupling system, and the human ability to learn and adapt should play a more significant role in the control algorithms Having summarized the major difficulties, possible future works are discussed. It is argued that, since a distinct boundary cannot be drawn in such strong-coupling human-exoskeleton system, the more complex the control system gets, the more difficult it is for the user to learn to use. It is suggested that the exoskeleton should be treated as a simple wearable tool, and downgrading its automatic level may be a change toward a brighter research outlook. This effort at simplification is definitely not easy, as it necessitates theoretical supports from fields such as biomechanics, ergonomics, and bionics.

Immersive Robot Control in Virtual Reality to Command Robots in Space Missions

We present an approach to control a semi-autonomous robot team remotely under low bandwidth conditions with a single operator. Our approach utilises virtual reality and autonomous robots to create an immersive user interface for multi-robot control. This saves a big amount of bandwidth, just because there is no need to transfer a constant steam of camera images. The virtual environment for control only has to be transferred once to the control station and only has to be updated when the map is out of date. Also, the camera position can easily be changed in virtual reality for more overview on the robots situation. The parts of this approach can easily be transferred to applications on earth e.g. for semi-autonomous robots in hazardous areas or under water applications.

下肢外骨骼机器人步行训练对痉挛型双瘫脑性瘫痪患儿平衡功能的影响

目的:探讨下肢外骨骼机器人步行训练对痉挛型双瘫脑性瘫痪患儿平衡功能的影响。方法:纳入2022年7月至2022年12月间就诊于浙江大学医学院附属儿童医院康复科的痉挛型双瘫脑性瘫痪患儿20例为治疗组,采用配对设计,年龄、性别、功能状态匹配的20例作为对照组。两组均给予常规的运动康复训练(运动疗法、悬吊训练、等速肌力训练),治疗组在此基础上增加下肢外骨骼机器人步行训练。在治疗前、治疗8周后对两组患儿进行表面肌电(sEMG)测试、动态平衡反应位移测试、静态平衡评分测试和儿童平衡量表(PBS)测试。结果:治疗前两组患儿臀大肌、臀中肌、股四头肌和胫前肌RMS数值,动态平衡反应位移、静态平衡评分及PBS评分组间差异无显著性意义(P>0.05),两组患儿治疗后臀大肌、臀中肌、股四头肌和胫前肌RMS数值,动态平衡反应位移、静态平衡评分及PBS评分均增加,治疗前后组内比较具有显著性意义(P<0.05),治疗后较治疗前有所改善,组间比较两组患儿治疗前后臀大肌、臀中肌和股四头肌RMS数值差值(臀大肌P=0.021;臀中肌P=0.016;股四头肌P=0.004)、动态平衡反应位移差值(前侧P=0.014;左侧P=0.003;右侧P=0.003)、静态平衡评分差值(P=0.005)及PBS评分差值(P=0.004)具有显著性意义,治疗组差值大于对照组,治疗组改善效果优于对照组。结论:下肢外骨骼机器人结合常规康复治疗能更加有效地改善痉挛型双瘫脑性瘫痪患儿平衡功能。

下肢外骨骼康复机器人仿真和试验分析

目的为了帮助下肢运动障碍者进行有序康复训练,设计一种下肢外骨骼康复机器人,动力源驱动下肢交叉摆动模拟人类正常步态行走,实现双下肢协调运动,帮助下肢运动障碍者完成康复训练。方法建立外骨骼机器人三维模型、下肢外骨骼机器人D-H模型,对下肢外骨骼康复机器人进行正、逆运动学分析,并将模型导入ADAMS,创建运动副与驱动函数进行运动学仿真,在此基础上制作样机并进行动力学测试试验分析。结果正、逆运动学验证了外骨骼康复机器人空间运动的合理性,ADAMS运动仿真结果与理论计算具有良好一致性,从而保证设计的下肢外骨骼结构与穿戴者下肢同步协调。仿真分析发现理论计算和仿真的误差主要来源于驱动函数误差,动作误差最大为2.15 cm。试验验证髋关节、膝关节运动与参考输入运动具有一致性。但是运动存在误差,髋关节平均误差为5.57°,膝关节平均误差为5.45°,实验发现电机扭矩不足是引起运动误差的首要因素,其次是零件加工误差和装配误差。结论通过理论计算、仿真与试验分析验证了方案的可行性,发现驱动误差、零件加工精度和装配精度可带来误差。研究结果可为进一步完善机器人性能和研究康复机器人动力学影响因素提供基础和参数依据。

基于改进涡流搜索算法的外骨骼迭代学习控制

为提升康复外骨骼机器人的步态跟踪性能,提出一种基于改进涡流搜索算法的迭代学习控制方法。首先针对传统迭代学习控制抗扰性差和控制信息缺失问题,引入PD控制器、自适应遗忘因子、误差过渡曲线和控制信息搜索等策略,改进迭代学习控制律;其次,基于多种策略对涡流搜索算法进行改进,提出了一种改进涡流搜索算法,改进后的算法可优化迭代学习控制的PD参数;最后进行行走实验,将提出的迭代学习控制方法与现有的同类算法进行仿真和数值比较,并测试了扰动情况下的跟踪性能。实验结果表明,所提方法的误差更小,跟踪性能更强。该算法改进了迭代学习控制的不足,具有较强的抗扰性能,保证了使用时的稳定性。

肌电和足压信息融合的外骨骼步态识别

为解决基于单一信号识别步态相位不够精准的问题,开展了动态交互力激励下的人机协同行走的步态识别研究。设计了肌电和足压信息采集的多模态传感器检测硬件平台;分别对单一信号开展滤波降噪、特征提取与降维等预处理;将表征下肢生理信息的肌电信号与运动信息的足压信号相融合,构建了支持向量机-模糊C均值(support vector machine-fuzzy C-mean algorithm,SVM-FCM)多模信息融合的外骨骼助行步态识别算法;开展了人机协同助行实验,实验结果表明:信息融合后的人机步态相位平均识别率达到82.49%,优于使用单一信号的识别效果,验证了多模信息融合算法识别人机协同步态的有效性。本研究可用于下肢外骨骼机器人运动控制,为人机运动相融奠定基础。

基于人机工程学的下肢外骨骼运动控制

为避免外骨骼机器人髋关节和膝关节尺寸影响患者正常行走功能的恢复,踝尺寸对脚落地姿态的影响,提出一种基于人机工程学的外骨骼机器人运动控制方法.首先利用人机工程学对人体的参数进行收集,并以此构建适合人体尺寸、具有舒适穿戴的外骨骼模型架构,使外骨骼机器人满足穿戴人群差异化的需求;然后所构建的下肢外骨骼架构,建立外骨骼下肢末端的位姿并构建单肢三自由度机械腿的正向运动学方程,通过对机器人的步行计划,外骨骼机器人的实际步行过程由ADAMS进行模拟,验证人体行走时两腿各关节扭矩的变化规律;最后为了验证该方法在关节速度控制中的优越性和有效性,选择模糊PID进行控制.