2A1-I10 Development of endoskeleton type power assist suit using pneumatic artificial muscles

Abstract

In recent years, more than half of the people in Japan are having low back pain. Low back pain has become a social problem in Japan. Therefore, we developed a power assist suit of the endoskeleton type that it can exert a large force to assist the human body works. We have selected the pneumatic artificial muscle as an actuator. Also, amplification mechanism is attached in the waist to efficiently transmit the power of the artificial muscle. And, we have evaluated using the VAS and EMG to evaluate the effectiveness of the power assist suit. In addition, we were confirmed objective usefulness and subjective usefulness from their results.