Stiffness Modulator: A Novel Actuator for Human Augmentation

Stiffness modulators are devices that promote a novel means of actuation; they provide stiffness modulation without deliberately doing mechanical work. These type of compliant actuators may be used for human augmentation to complement co-contracted antagonistic muscles and as such reduce muscle activity and metabolic energy cost. Despite the theoretical appeal of this concept, its implementation remains elusive in practical applications. This is particularly true for human augmentation which requires a portable stiffness modulator. In this paper, we present a compact, lightweight, and self-contained stiffness modulator. Using this device, we demonstrate stiffness augmentation of the human knee joint in a sit to stand task. The experimental results indicate that the proposed device is able to assist a human by reducing muscle activity while drawing minimal battery power.