Al-Dahiree, O.S.; Ghazilla, R.A.R.; Tokhi, M.O.; Yap, H.J.; Albaadani, E.A. Design of a Compact Energy Storage with Rotary Series Elastic Actuator for Lumbar Support Exoskeleton. Machines2022, 10, 584.
Al-Dahiree, O.S.; Ghazilla, R.A.R.; Tokhi, M.O.; Yap, H.J.; Albaadani, E.A. Design of a Compact Energy Storage with Rotary Series Elastic Actuator for Lumbar Support Exoskeleton. Machines 2022, 10, 584.
Al-Dahiree, O.S.; Ghazilla, R.A.R.; Tokhi, M.O.; Yap, H.J.; Albaadani, E.A. Design of a Compact Energy Storage with Rotary Series Elastic Actuator for Lumbar Support Exoskeleton. Machines2022, 10, 584.
Al-Dahiree, O.S.; Ghazilla, R.A.R.; Tokhi, M.O.; Yap, H.J.; Albaadani, E.A. Design of a Compact Energy Storage with Rotary Series Elastic Actuator for Lumbar Support Exoskeleton. Machines 2022, 10, 584.
Abstract
Lumbar support exoskeletons with active and passive actuators are currently the cutting-edge technology for preventing back injuries in workers while lifting heavy objects. However, many challenges still exist in both types of exoskeletons, including rigid actuators, risks of human-robot interaction, high battery consumption, bulky design, and limited assistance. In this paper, the design of a compact, lightweight energy storage device combined with rotary series elastic (ES-RSEA) is proposed for use in a lumbar support exoskeleton to increase the level of assistance and exploit the human bioenergy during the two stages of the lifting task. ES takes the responsibility to store and release passive mechanical energy while RSEA provides excellent compliance and prevents injury from the human body's undesired movement. The experimental tests on the spiral spring showed excellent linear characteristics (above 99%) with an actual spring stiffness of 9.96 Nm/rad. The results demonstrate that ES-RSEA can provide maximum torque assistance in the ascent phase with 66.6 Nm while generating nearly 21 Nm of spring torque during descent without turning on the DC motor. Ultimately, the proposed design can maximize the energy storage of human energy, exploit the biomechanics of lifting tasks, and reduce the burden on human effort to perform lifting tasks.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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