Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : June 05, 2019 - June 08, 2019
Falling while walking is a major problem among the elderly and disabled people. In this paper, we developed a suit that can support walking by assisting dorsiflexion motion of ankle with pneumatic gel muscles (PGMs). Although PGMs have high power and are lightweight, it is difficult to control by air pressure due to their physical characteristics. Therefore we proposed ON-OFF pattern control that use some PGMs and supply a constant pressure. We designed the assist force based on the EMG and the torque of ankle joint and evaluated the EMG and ankle joint angle while walking in the suit.
