Improvement of Muscle Hardness Sensor for Power Assisting Suit

Abstract

In order to realize a wearable power assisting suit for assisting a nurse caring a patient in her arm, the power supply and control systems have been miniaturized. The new suit consists of shoulders, arms, waist and legs units and is fitted on her body. The arms, waist and legs have pneumatic rotary actuators driven directly with micro air pumps. The muscle forces are sensed with a new muscle hardness sensor utilizing a sensing tip mounted on a force sensing resistor. This paper gives the design and characteristics of the new power assisting suit verifying its practicability.