Mechanical and trajectory design of wearable Supernumerary Robotic Limbs for crutch use

The Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRL) is a wearable robot that augments its user with two robotic limbs, kinematically independent from the user's own limbs. This thesis explores the use of the SRL as a hands-free robotic crutch for assisting injured or elderly people. This paper first details the mechanical and material design choices that drastically reduced the weight of this SRL prototype, including advanced composite materials, efficient joint structure, and high-performance pneumatic actuators. The latter half of this paper characterizes the biomechanics of both traditional crutch-assisted and SRL-assisted ambulation, models this gait pattern with an inverted pendulum system, and derives equations of motion to create a simulation that examines the effect of various initial parameters. Finally, an optimum set of initial parameters is identified to produce a successful SRL-assisted swing.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Cheung, Michael Yanshun

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Haruhiko Harry Asada.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105711

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/105711