体表に細径人工筋と面状フレームを配置した腕部アシストスーツの試作

抄録

Assistive suits are being researched and developed, and some of them are already in practical use. However, many assistive suits in practical use often block with complex human movement because the stiffness of the motors and large frames that make up the suit limit the degree-of-freedom of the user’s joint. In previous research, we have attempted to solve this problem by developing an assistive suit with a flexible drive unit that combines soft actuators, McKibben muscles, and soft clothing. To improve the performance of this suit while maintaining its flexible characteristics, we also conducted studies using planar frames in part. In this study, we made a prototype arm support suit combining McKibben muscles and planar frames arranged on the body surface to support elbow flexion and measured the movable joint angles.