Quantifying the human-robot interaction forces between a lower limb exoskeleton and healthy users

To counter the many disadvantages of prolonged wheelchair use, patients with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are beginning to turn towards robotic exoskeletons. However, we are currently unaware of the magnitude and distribution of forces acting between the user and the exoskeleton. This is a critical issue, as SCI patients have an increased susceptibility to skin lesions and pressure ulcer development. Therefore, we developed a real-time force measuring apparatus, which was placed at the physical human-robot interface (pHRI) of a lower limb robotic exoskeleton. Experiments captured the dynamics of these interaction forces whilst the participants performed a range of typical stepping actions. Our results indicate that peak forces occurred at the anterior aspect of both the left and right legs, areas that are particularly prone to pressure ulcer development. A significant difference was also found between the average force experienced at the anterior and posterior sensors of the right thigh during the swing phase for different movement primitives. These results call for the integration of instrumented straps as standard in lower limb exoskeletons. They also highlight the potential of such straps to be used as an alternative/complementary interface for the high-level control of lower limb exoskeletons in some patient groups.