Title
Pneumatic walking assistive device for use over long period.
Abstract
Humans can adapt to and effectively walk on different kinds of surfaces and in various environments, but fatigue is inevitable when walking or even just standing for long periods, especially when carrying heavy objects. Methods for assisting walking or standing work are in demand, but most research thus far has been focused on using electricity to implement both interlocking and assistive power; this approach has the drawback of high-energy consumption. Therefore, we previously developed a lightweight assistive device that stores part of the kinetic energy generated during the leg swing-to-leg contact phases, and uses this energy to effectively assist during the stance phase. The developed device comprises surge tanks, an air cylinder, and other components arranged in a simple configuration and interlocked with walking by using a simple sensing system, therefore, making it suitable for use over long periods. This paper presents experimental measurements of the assistive force generated using the proposed device when it is attached to human subjects. The measurements were conducted under predicted usages to evaluate the assistive performance of the proposed device, and the measurement results demonstrate its effectiveness.
Year
DOI
Venue
2014
10.1080/01691864.2014.920722
ADVANCED ROBOTICS
Keywords
Field
DocType
assistive device,walking assistance,pneumatic actuator
Drawback,Sensing system,Pneumatic actuator,Interlocking,Electricity,Cylinder,Control engineering,Surge tank,Engineering
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
28
18
0169-1864
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
1
0.35
3
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Yasuyuki Yamada134.08
Gen Endo248953.07
Edwardo F. Fukushima310.35