An exoskeleton for human elbow and forearm motion assist

We present an exoskeleton to assist elbow and forearm motion of physically weak persons such as elderly, injured, or disabled persons. The forearm pronation/supination motion and the elbow flexion/extension motion, which are essential motions for the activities of daily living, are assisted by the proposed exoskeleton. The electromyogram (EMG) signals of muscles in forearm and upper-arm of the exoskeleton's user and the wrist force are also used as input information for the controller. By applying the EMG signals as main input signals to the controller, automatic control can be realized for the physically weak persons without manipulating any equipment. Fuzzy control has been applied to realize the natural and flexible motion assist. Experiment has been performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed exoskeleton.