Development of a low-power wearable powered waist exoskeleton with mechanical clutch

This research introduces a low-power, light-weight wearable powered waist exoskeleton with mechanical clutch. By processing the signals from multiple sensors, the human movement intention can be precisely identified and estimated. The exoskeleton can help reduce the work done by human muscle and has a loading capacity up to 20kg. Through the mechanical clutches applied, the exoskeleton can lock the joint and supply support when the human upper body is from bending to an upright position. The joint lock resets and the motor stop working after the supporting progress, and human can move freely. In this way, the energy consumed is greatly reduced and the use time is increased. The exoskeleton can actively support the flexion and extension of the hip joints, and passively support the abduction of the hip joints. The structure of the exoskeleton is simplified by obtaining the approximate dimensions of the lumbar vertebrae joints using human posture analysis (HPA) and designing the dimensions of the exoskeleton to match the movement. Human body mechanics analysis and finite element analysis (FEA) are done to optimize the structure of the exoskeleton and the simplification of the bind points. The main purpose of the design is to protect the waist in a long time duration and decrease the risks of waist injuries when moving heavy loads.