Exoskeleton: from helping paraplegic patients walk to controlling robots

According to reports, among the people aged 15 to 64, 44 million have some basic operational difficulties, including lifting, moving, walking, bending, sitting and standing. There are 1.1 million strokes per year in Europe, which often leads to paralysis of the upper or lower limbs. Therefore, taking into account the subsequent economic and social impacts, the ability of these young people and older people to regain their autonomous mobility is the primary goal at the moment.

The exoskeleton, as its name suggests, is a system that supports the outside of the body. First, they assisted the rehabilitation center experts to provide support to the patients in the training course. Their emergence has allowed the treatment process to circumvent ergonomic challenges and provide valuable data while controlling patient actions. Hocoma in Switzerland is a pioneer in this field. They studied hard at the Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich for many years and finally invented their own robotic treadmill, Lokomat, in 2001. The robot is trained in stroke disorders caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and patients with Parkinson's disease. The system includes a weight-bearing support system that can be fully loaded, a pedal, a shelf that wraps around the legs and provides motion guidance and stimulation, and a virtual reality system that provides feedback. The company also wanted to use this system to solve the treatment of the lower back, arms and hands.

The Aura Innovative Robotics Laboratory, affiliated with the Polytechnic University of Madrid, aims to provide rehabilitation assistance to patients suffering from shoulder injuries. Their exoskeleton Orte estimates the patient's degree of trauma and then helps them perform rehabilitation exercises under a range of power and force sensors. Cecilia Carcia Cena, co-founder of the lab, told the author: “Thanks to the maturity of the muscle skeletal model of the arm, doctors can better understand the condition and obtain valuable information at the diagnostic stage, and then tailor a robot to each patient. Leading and executed rehabilitation program."

In addition to rehabilitation centers, they also want people to use exoskeleton systems in their home environment. As mentioned in the MIRAD project, this triggers many security, wearability, energy auto-supply, intelligent power interactions, and psychological challenges. The project aims to design a double lower extremity exoskeleton system that can help people overcome the problems of functional deficits. In KU Leuven's research experiments, this system can help a healthy person sitting over 65 years of age to stand.

At the forefront of another area, there is a project called “Human-Interacting Wearable Exoskeleton for the Action of Paraplegic Patients”, the so-called SYMBITRON. Its purpose is to create wearable exoskeletons with safety, biological and custom functions that help people with spinal cord injuries use their residual motor function to walk without external assistance. Their Mindwalker exoskeleton system was performed in a laboratory environment by six bone marrow-damaged people. One of the goals of this project is to identify brain waves that can control exoskeleton movements using a dry, lightweight, wearable brainwave cap. A virtual reality training environment can help the brain produce the correct brainwave signal.

“The function of the new generation of exoskeleton is constantly being strengthened, such as automatic operation, balancing mechanism and assisted control operation. BALANCE and SYMBITRON's research has received funding from the European Union”, as the head of the BALANCE project in Tecnalia Research and Innovation, Jan Dr. Veneman said: "After the Food and Drug Administration agreed in 2016 to put all kinds of automatic exoskeletons into the home, the exoskeleton is becoming a reality step by step. This has greatly expanded the exoskeleton technology and other wearable robots. Sub-market."

The exoskeleton has a variety of shapes and materials. At the Cybatholon Semi-Robot Olympics, which will open on October 8, 2016, we will see at least 11 teams wearing exoskeletons. In fact, the current trend is that the exoskeleton will become lighter and lighter, even like a sock, rather than an ice-cold device made of bolts and metal. Although it does not achieve full power walking, it has a great auxiliary effect. Especially for the elderly to travel more convenient. Bioenergy socks are the result of a joint study between the University of Bristol, the University of Ritz, the University of Nottingham, the University of Southampton, the University of Strathclyde, Loughborough University and the University of the West of England. The University of Salford has also developed a lightweight exoskeleton designed specifically for the hands, which looks like a beautiful glove.

From the WALL-X exoskeleton invented by Ghent University, we learned how a small exoskeleton with a simple aerodynamic system can help the ankle flex and help walk. Regardless of the method used, it is important to understand the direct interaction between the human body and the exoskeleton. Therefore, Danish AnyBody is currently studying the human body's highly analog technology.

In addition, the exoskeleton can help those who challenge ergonomics. “The pain in the lower back is the cause of many workers who have completed a common cold. It is the reason why 15% of workers take sick leave, and even millions of people are unemployed every year.” Spexor Spinal exoskeleton is designed to avoid the lower back. Pain and help those who experience the disease to re-employ. Unlike exoskeletons that focus only on upper limbs or lower limb mobility, Spexor Spinal is focused on addressing the pain of people with spinal cord injuries. This project originated in January 2016 and is still in its infancy.

Seizing the opportunity, the Swiss startup Noonee pioneered a project to optimize the work environment called Chairolution. “This chair, unlike a chair, is a wearable sitting exoskeleton that provides support for workers working on the production line to move the body and avoid the stress and health of repetitive work. The problem.” German car manufacturer Audi tried this exoskeleton last year.

Another exoskeleton tested by automakers is the ABLE's upper extremity exoskeleton, which was used by PSA's Peugeot Citroen plant, which Haption has already put into commercial production. This robot was invented by the French Atomic Energy Commission to reduce arm loads. ABLE's invention team said that Innorobod's lower extremity exoskeleton has been put into commercial production by RB3D.

Finally, the exoskeleton can also be used for remote operation of robots in extreme environments. The X-Arm-2 exoskeleton device invented by the European Space Agency is capable of controlling a fully powered tactile robot. Robot feedback is used to upgrade engine control functions. Such equipment can be used for robotic surgery and other nuclear energy equipment that require precise engine control.

All in all, our goal is not to create highly humanoid robots, but to allow patients to move freely, improve poor working conditions, and develop new uses for remote control operations. Of course, there are still many unknown challenges in this field, and we need to constantly broaden our knowledge of basic biomechanics, human-computer interaction, and manipulation of complex systems.