Using Hip Assisted Running Exoskeleton with Impact Isolation Mechanism to Improve Energy Efficiency

Research has indicated that exoskeletons can assist human movement, but due to the influence of additional weight and challenges in control strategy design, only a few exoskeletons effectively reduce the wearers’ metabolic costs during running. This paper proposes an innovative and efficient hip-assisted running exoskeleton (HARE) designed to facilitate the flexion and extension movements of the joint along the sagittal plane. In the field of structural engineering, we propose implementing an active-passive combination constant force suspension system, hereinafter referred to as CFS, to effectively mitigate the impact of inertial forces during running. The decoupled transmission mechanism allows the CFS and assist mechanisms to operate independently, ensuring the tension of the cables. The flexible structural design can reduce the locomotion limitation on human bodies and reduce the additional energy burden on the body. In control strategy designing, the joint torque-generating strategy provides personalized assistance strategies for wearers to actively optimize the control parameters. Meanwhile, the safety control strategy based on abnormal gait recognition can ensure human safety. Experiments have shown that compared to not wearing exoskeletons, this device can reduce the energy consumption of the human body by 5.33 % at a speed of 9 km/h. This demonstrates its potential in human motion assistance processes.