Reduction of Ground Impact of a Powered Exoskeleton by Shock Absorption Mechanism on the Shank

Abstract

Powered exoskeletons for people with paraplegia are subjected to repetitive and large impacts due to the repeated ground contacts. The repetitive impact forces not only deteriorate the wear comfort but also cause a serious damage to the muscles and bones of the human wearing the powered exoskeleton. To address this issue, a novel shock absorption mechanism for powered exoskeletons that can reduce the peak of ground reaction force up to 28% is designed in this paper. The designed absorption mechanism is integrated into the WalkON Suit, a powered exoskeleton for people with paraplegia and verified by experimental results with a human subject in this paper also.