DIMENSIONAL SYNTHESIS OF A GAIT REHABILITATION CABLE-SUSPENDED ROBOT ON MINIMUM 2-NORM TENSIONS

Abstract

A new design of gait rehabilitation robot with cable-suspended configuration is proposed. Due to the under-constrained nature, it enables reducing the constraint feeling of patients. Cables are attached to cuffs mounted on the leg. A detailed mechanical design is presented and a kinematics model is developed. Dimensional synthesis is performed in two steps. First, the cable disposition should be determined within a range to maintain cable-suspended configuration using the minimum 2-norm solution of tensions. Second, the optimal cable disposition is achieved with the Root Mean Square of tension solutions. Gait rehabilitation robots with three or four cables are discussed and compared to determine dimensional parameters in terms of the locations of pulleys. A simulation model with ADAMS software is presented and the cable module is utilized to imitate the cable-driven system in real. Tension distribution is obtained from the simulation model, which is employed in comparison with the calculated values. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented method.