• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.469-475
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• 2017

Workers in industrial fields are highly exposed to accidents or injuries caused by long working hours. An exoskeleton that is able to support the arm muscles of the worker and thereby reduce the probability of an accident and enhance working efficiency could be a solution to this problem. However, existing exoskeletons demand the use of high-priced sensors and motors, which makes them difficult to use in industrial fields. To solve this problem, we developed an arm assisting exoskeleton that consists only of mechanical components without any electronic sensors or motors. The exoskeleton follows the movement of the human arm by shoulder joint and ankle joint. In addition, counterbalance mechanisms are installed on the exoskeleton to support arm strength. The experimental validation of the exoskeleton was conducted using an EMG sensor, confirming the performance of the exoskeleton.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.21-30
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• 2017

최근 직물 또는 유연 재질을 활용하여 높은 착용 편의성을 가지면서 사용자의 움직임을 방해하지 않도록 설계되어 활동성을 높인 근력보조 시스템의 연구 결과들이 발표되고 있다. 이러한 결과들은 특정 분야가 아닌 일반인 또는 고령자를 대상으로한 일상생활용 근력보조 슈트 개발 연구에 활용할 수 있을 것으로 기대되면서, 근력보조 슈트에 대한 관심 또한 높아지고 있다. 따라서 본고에서는 활용 분야별 근력증강 시스템의 개발 동향과 핵심 기술의 현황에 관하여 기술하고자 한다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Computer Information Conference
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• 2014.07a
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• pp.17-18
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• 2014

현대사회와 미래사회는 가속화되어지는 IT기술에 의해서 융합되어진 작업의 효율 및 성능의 발전이 이슈화되고 있다. 따라서 1990년대부터는 군사 및 재활분야와 함께 제조업 및 유통업 등 전반적인 산업 모두에서 근력보조기구에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 과거에는 일반인이 무거운 짐을 운반하는 것을 완전한 로봇이 대체하거나 몸이 불편한 사회적 약자가 휠체어 및 지팡이 또는 전동 휠체어와 같은 보조 개념이 아닌 완전한 대체의 개념을 가지고 있었다. 그러나 웨어러블이 대두됨에 따라 기계와 인체가 합쳐지는 상호작용 근력보조기구가 탄생했다. 근력보조기구는 힘/토크 센서를 통한 인간과 로봇간의 상호작용에 의해 인간의 다양한 상지 및 하지 동작을 구현할 수 있는 근력 강화용 웨어러블 로봇 등이 있다.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.771-782
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• 2017

This paper describes the development of a wearable robot to assist ankle power for the elderly. Previously developed wearable robots have generally used motors and gears to assist muscle power during walking. However, the combination of motor and reduction gear is heavy and has limitations on the simultaneous control of stiffness and torque due to the friction of the gear reducer unlike human muscles. Therefore, in this study, Mckibben pneumatic muscle, which is lighter, safer, and more powerful than an electric motor with gear, was used to assist ankle joint. Antagonistic actuation using a pair of pneumatic muscles assisted the power of the soleus muscles and tibialis anterior muscles used for the pitching motion of the ankle joint, and the model parameters of the antagonistic actuator were experimentally derived using a muscle test platform. To recognize the wearer's walking intention, foot load and ankle torque were calculated by measuring the pressure and the center of pressure of the foot using force and linear displacement sensors, and the stiffness and the torque of the pneumatic muscle joint were then controlled by the calculated ankle torque and foot load. Finally, the performance of the developed ankle power assistive robot was experimentally verified by measuring EMG signals during walking experiments on a treadmill.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.313-323
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• 2023

The wearable robot system is designed to assist human skeletal and muscular systems for enhancing user's abilities in various fields, including medical, industrial, and military. The military has an expanding need for wearable robots with the integration of surveillance/control systems and advanced equipment in unstructured battlefield environments. However, there is a lack of research on the design and mechanism of wearable robots, especially for power assist systems. This study proposes a lightweight wearable robot system that provides comfortable wear and muscle support effects in various movements for soldiers performing high-strength and endurance missions. The Power assist mechanism is described and verified, and the tasks that require power assist are analyzed. This study explain the system including its driving mechanism, control system, and mechanical design. Finally, the performance of the robot is verified through experiments and evaluations, demonstrating its effectiveness in muscle support.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.1143-1144
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• 2012

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.1623-1624
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• 2013

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.653-654
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• 2009

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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• 2011.12b
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• pp.485-487
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• 2011

본 논문에서는 인간의 근력을 보조 또는 증폭시켜 줄 수 있는 유압 구동식 외골격 로봇을 개발하였다. 인간 신체 데이터와 보행 분석 데이터를 기반으로 로봇의 외골격을 설계 하였으며, 이를 구동하기 위한 알고리즘, 제어기 H/W 등을 개발하였다. 근력지원 외골격 로봇을 설계 제작하여, 실제 실험을 통해 설계, 제어 등 로봇의 현장 적용 가능성 등을 판단할 수 있는 플랫폼을 가질 수 있었다.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.617-624
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• 2015

This paper describes the development of a wearable robot to assist the elbow muscle for use by elderly workers in aging societies. Various previously developed wearable robots have drawbacks in terms of their price, portability, and slow recognition of the wearer's intention. In this paper, emphasis is placed on the following features to minimize these drawbacks. The first feature is that an actuator is attached only at the elbow joint that withstands the highest moment during arm motion to reduce the weight, volume, and price of the robot and increase its practicality. The second is that operation of the wearable robot is divided into two modes, a tracking mode and a muscle strengthening mode, and the robot can automatically switch between these modes by analyzing the wearer's intention through the brachial muscle strength measuring device developed in this study. The assistive performance of the developed wearable robot is experimentally verified by motion tracking experiments without an external load and muscle strengthening experiments with an external load. During the muscle strengthening experiments, the power of the muscle of the upper arm is measured by a commercial electromyography (EMG) sensor. Motion tracking performance at a speed of $120^{\circ}/s$ and muscle assistance of over 60 % were obtained using our robot.