• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.364-371
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments in lower limb exoskeletons. The exoskeleton system is a human-robot cooperation system that enhances the performance of the wearer in various environments while the human operator is in charge of the position control, contextual perception, and motion signal generation through the robot's artificial intelligence. This system is in the form of a mechanical structure that is combined to the exterior of a human body to improve the muscular power of the wearer. This paper is followed by an overview of the development history of exoskeleton systems and their three main applications in military/industrial field, medical/rehabilitation field and social welfare field. Besides the key technologies in exoskeleton systems, the research is presented from several viewpoints of the exoskeleton mechanism, human-robot interface and human-robot cooperation control.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.434-441
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• 2004

In this paper, an exoskeleton-type motion capturing system is designed and implemented. The device is designed to have 12 degree-of-freedom entirely to represent human arm motions. Forward and inverse kinematics of the device are analyzed to make sure of its singular positions. With the designed model parameters, simulation studies are conducted to verify that the designed motion capturing system is effective to represent human motions within the workspace. As a counterpart of the exoskeleton system, a mobile robot is built to follow human motion restrictively. Experimental studies of teleoperation from the exoskeleton device to control the mobile robot are carried out to show feasible application of wireless man-machine interface.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.124-131
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• 2017

This paper present a novel approach to control the lower body power assistive exoskeleton system of a HEXAR-CR35 aimed at improving a muscular strength. More specifically the control of based on the human intention is crucial of importance to ensure intuitive and dexterous motion with the human. In this contribution, we proposed the detection algorithm of the human intention using the MCRS which are developed to measure the contraction of the muscle with variation of the circumference. The proposed algorithm provides a joint motion of exoskeleton corresponding the relate muscles. The main advantages of the algorithm are its simplicity, computational efficiency to control one joint of the HEXAR-CR35 which are consisted knee-active type exoskeleton (the other joints are consisted with the passive or quasi-passive joints that can be arranged by analyzing of the human joint functions). As a consequence, the motion of exoskeleton is generated according to the gait phase: swing and stance phase which are determined by the foot insole sensors. The experimental evaluation of the proposed algorithm is achieved in walking with the exoskeleton while carrying the external mass in the back side.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.533-539
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to estimate a validity of control signal through a design of Exoskeleton Robot Arm's capable of intelligent recognition as a human arm's motion by using realtime processed data of generated EMG signals. By an intelligent algorithm, the EMG output value of human biceps and triceps muscles contraction can be recognized and used for the control over exoskeleton arm corresponding to human's recognition and judgement. The EMG sensing data of muscles contraction and relaxation are used as the input signal from human's body to operate the Exoskeleton Robot Arm thus copying human arm motion. An intelligent control of Exoskeleton Robot Arm is to design the analog control circuit which processes the input data, and then to manufacture an integrated control board. And then abstracted signal is passed by DSP signal processing, Fuzzy logic algorithm is designed for a accurate prediction of weight or load through the intelligent algorithm, and design an Exoskeleton Robot Arm to express a human's intention.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1600-1602
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• 2008

Various applications of exoskeleton system are reported in the area of military, healthcare, and industries. More the user gets help from exoskeleton system, more power is consumed. To resolve this design conflict, we suggest an energy efficient exoskeleton system which compensates muscle fatigue in isotonic and isometric contraction conditions. Fatigue compensated exoskeleton significantly reduced muscle fatigue while consumed less operation power. In addition, the level of fatigue compensation can be managed by motor control using various input profile. It can make user customized exoskeleton system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.857-863
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• 2015

The need for human body posture robots has led researchers to develop dexterous design of exoskeleton robots. Quantitative techniques to assess human motor function and generate commands for robots were required to be developed. In this paper, we present a passivity based adaptive control algorithm for upper limb assist exoskeleton. The proposed algorithm can adapt to different subject parameters and provide efficient response against the biomechanical variations caused by subject variations. Furthermore, we have employed the Particle Swarm Optimization technique to tune the controller gains. Efficacy of the proposed algorithm method is experimentally demonstrated using a seven degree of freedom upper limb assist exoskeleton robot. The proposed algorithm was found to estimate the desired motion and assist accordingly. This algorithm in conjunction with an upper limb assist exoskeleton robot may be very useful for elderly people to perform daily tasks.

• Advances in robotics research
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.237-245
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• 2018

This study evaluates the efficacy of a class robust control scheme namely active force control in performing a joint based trajectory tracking of an upper limb exoskeleton in rehabilitating the elbow joint. The plant of the exoskeleton system is obtained via system identification method whilst the PD gains were tuned heuristically. The estimated inertial parameter that enables the AFC disturbance rejection effect is attained by means of a non-nature based metaheuristic optimisation technique known as simulated Kalman filter (SKF). It was demonstrated from the present investigation that the proposed PDAFC scheme outperformed the classical PD algorithm in tracking the prescribed trajectory both in the presence and without the presence of disturbance attributed by the mannequin limb weights (1 kg and 1.5 kg) that mimics the weight of actual human limb weight. Therefore, it is apparent from the results obtained from the present study that the proposed control scheme, i.e., PDAFC is suitable for the application of exoskeleton for stroke rehabilitation.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.117-121
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• 2023

Research on walking assistance exoskeletons that provide optimized torque to individuals has been conducted steadily, and these studies aim to help users feel stable when walking and get help that suits their intentions. Because exoskeleton auxiliary efficiency evaluation is based on metabolic cost savings, experiments on real people are needed to evaluate continuously evolving control algorithms. However, experiments with real people always require risks and high costs. Therefore, in this study, we intend to actively utilize human musculoskeletal simulation. First, to improve the accuracy of musculoskeletal models, we propose a body segment mass distribution algorithm using body composition analysis data that reflects body characteristics. Secondly, the efficiency of most exoskeleton torque control algorithms is evaluated as the reduction rate of Metabolic Cost. In this study, we assume that the torque minimizing the Metabolic Cost is the optimal torque and propose a method for obtaining the torque.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.39-40
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• 2012

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.1011-1012
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• 2010