Abstract
In recent years, many walking assist devices have been developed to enable users to walk by an electronic control system. However, the introductionof an electronic control system is making the price of these device to rise. It is difficult for users to purchase an expensive device, even if it is easy to use. In order to spread an assist device to be used in daily life, a development of low price and simple device is expected. The purpose of this study is to design and develop a simple device for assisting walk motion to reduce the load on the human leg. The assist device is designed by using a planar 6-link mechanism which transforms a rotational motion into an oscillating motion. The respective length of the links are determined by comparing the movement of the link, which user's foot is put on, with the movement of the human leg in walking motion. We optimize the device by using the Genetic algorithm while we consider the max value of input-torque to drive the device. In this study, the device assisting the user's legs is made to be driven by the user's arm. We have developed a device of the type that receive the body weight by the seat to assist both legs.We evaluate this device's supporting performance and a load of driving the device from changes in the EMG of the leg.
