Abstract
A standing style transfer system, ABLE, is designed to assist a person with disabled lower limbs to travel in a standing position, to sit down in and stand up from a chair, and to go up and down a step. ABLE comprises three modules: a pair of telescopic crutches, a powered lower extremity orthosis, and a pair of mobile platforms. In this system, the telescopic crutches are useful not only to maintain the body stability in a standing position, but to supply power when standing up from a chair, going up a step, and so forth. The powered lower extremity orthosis has an actuator on each hip and knee joint. This module actively fixes, bends, and stretches each joint. The mobile platforms use crawlers to enable the person to travel even on uneven ground. These platforms also enable the user to turn on a rotation board mechanism. In this paper, we mainly discuss the chair and step motions. Experimental results related to these motions confirm the design’s effectiveness.
