Development of Passive Lower Back Exoskeletons

The design of two passive back lift assist exoskeletons are presented in this thesis. The first exoskeleton uses carbon fiber as an energy storage medium while the second system utilizes a series system comprised of a gas spring and metal coil spring. The first exoskeleton was successfully tested long term in a warehouse environment and in laboratory experiments. From these tests and feedback from wearers several drawbacks to the design were discovered. Version two of the exoskeleton successfully addresses these concerns.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Pesek, Taylor Harrison

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Asbeck, Alan T.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Bohn, Jan Helge
• Wicks, Alfred L.

• Passive Exoskeleton
• Lifting
• Back Exoskeleton

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:24471

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/105647