Running Experimental Research of a Wire Driven Astronaut Rehabilitative Training Robot

Keeping astronauts physically healthy in the harsh space environment is a key to the successful execution of a space mission. Long-term space missions in the weightless environment, however, can result in space adaptation syndrome, which seriously affects astronauts' health. To alleviate the adverse effects, this paper proposes a wire driven astronaut rehabilitative training robot that simulates the characteristics of the gravity environment and load force on the astronauts. The robot can realize multiple physical exercises including running, bench press, and deep squat. A dynamic model of the wire driven unit (WDU) was provided. On this basis, a hybrid force controller was designed to improve the precision and real-time performance of WDU. Furthermore, a dual-closed-loop control strategy was proposed to improve the loading precision of the robot. Running experimental results demonstrate that the robot can load force safely and reliably during the physical training, and the control strategies are effective.