IDENTIFICATION OF THE BEST CONTROL STRATEGY FOR THE APPLICATION OF PROSTHETIC LIMBS

Abstract

Prosthesis is a part of the bio-mechanics field, the science of fusing electro-mechanical devices with human muscles, skeleton, nervous systems, etc. The prosthetic limbs are incredibly precious to amputees as it can improve mobility and help them stay independently. To actuate the assistive device, a real time closed loop driving system is developed comprising of Atmega328 microcontrollers and DC series motors which mimics human locomotion. The feedback corresponding to the rotation of the DC motors is fetched by optical encoders mounted on it and the error is computed. The controllers implemented will take corrective action so as to bring the motors to the desired position at the respective time. In this study P, PI, and PID control algorithms are incorporated in the closed loop driving system for better accuracy and performance. The gain constants ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) are tuned manually and the suitable constants are determined by which the drive could be moved at the desired position (angle) in the ideal time of 1.4[Formula: see text]s for completing one gait cycle. The performance of P, PI, and PID controllers are compared and the best control strategy is employed in the driving system which exhibits least error and good stability.