リハビリ支援用空気圧ロボットアームの力制御の評価

抄録

Rehabilitation robots have become increasingly necessary in Japan due to the countries aging population. Pneumatic power is effective in this field because of its flexibility. In this study, a pneumatic robot arm to help subjects move from a sitting to a standing position using a pneumatic cylinder and a servo valve and its effectiveness were evaluated quantitatively. The stiffness control was applied for its movement. The performance of the robot was examined by measuring the movement of the human’s body using a digital video camera. The robot was used to help several subjects. This was done to investigate the effect of differences in physique. The knee torque was calculated to evaluate the assistance ratio. It became clear that the stiffness control is effective, but the control parameter must be changed owing to the weight of the subjects.