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Terrain slope parameter recognition for exoskeleton robot in urban multi-terrain environments

Authors :
Ran Guo
Wenjiang Li
Yulong He
Tangjian Zeng
Bin Li
Guangkui Song
Jing Qiu
Source :
Complex & Intelligent Systems, Vol 10, Iss 2, Pp 3107-3118 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
Springer, 2024.

Abstract

Abstract Lower limb augmentation exoskeletons (LLAE) have been applied in several domains to enforce human walking capability. As humans can adjust their joint moments and generate different amounts of mechanical energy while walking on different terrains, the LLAEs should provide adaptive augmented torques to the wearer in multi-terrain environments, which requires LLAEs to implement accurate terrain parameter recognition. However, the outputs of previous terrain parameter recognition algorithms are more redundant, and the algorithms have higher computational complexity and are susceptible to external interference. Therefore, to resolve the above issues, this paper proposed a neural network regression (NNR)-based algorithm for terrain slope parameter recognition. In particular, this paper defined for the first time a unified representation of terrain parameters: terrain slope (TS), a single parameter that can provide enough information for exoskeleton control. In addition, our proposed NNR model uses only basic human parameters and LLAE joint motion posture measured by an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) as inputs to predict the TS, which is computationally simpler and less susceptible to interference. The model was evaluated using K-fold cross-validation and the results showed that the model had an average error of only 2.09 $$^\circ $$ ∘ . To further validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, it was verified on a homemade LLAE and the experimental results showed that the proposed TS parameter recognition algorithm only produces an average error of 3.73 $$^\circ $$ ∘ in multi-terrain environments. The defined terrain parameters can meet the control requirements of LLAE in urban multi-terrain environments. The proposed TS parameter recognition algorithm could facilitate the optimization of the adaptive gait control of the exoskeleton system and improve user experience, energy efficiency, and overall comfort.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
21994536 and 21986053
Volume :
10
Issue :
2
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Complex & Intelligent Systems
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.1ad27231a696456eb0ee3ea588437c09
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40747-023-01319-6