The paper is focused on designing a novel controllable and adjustable mechanism for reproducing human knee joint's complex motion by taking into account the flexion/extension movement in the sagittal plane, in combination with roll and slide. Main requirements for a knee rehabilitation supporting device are specified by researching the knee's anatomy and already existing mechanisms. A three degree of freedom (3 DOF) system (four-bar like linkage with controlled variable lengths of rockers) is synthesised to perform the reference path of instantaneous centre of rotation (ICR). Finally, a preliminary design of the adaptive mechanism is elaborated and a numerical model is built in Adams. Numerical results are derived from simulations that are presented to evaluate the accuracy of the reproduced movement and the mechanism's capabilities.

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This article aims to develop a system capable of estimating the displacement of a moving object with the usage of a relatively cheap and easy to apply sensors. There is a growing need for such systems, not only for robots, but also, for instance, pedestrian navigation. In this paper, the theory for this idea, including data postprocessing algorithms for a MEMS accelerometer and an optical flow sensor (OFS), as well as the developed complementary filter applied for sensor fusion, are presented. In addition, a vital part of the accelerometer’s algorithm, the zero velocity states detection, is implemented. It is based on analysis of the acceleration’s signal and further application of acceleration symmetrization, greatly improving the obtained displacement. A test stand with a linear guide and motor enabling imposing a specified linear motion is built. The results of both sensors’ testing suggest that the displacement estimated by each of them is highly correct. Fusion of the sensors’ data gives even better outcomes, especially in cases with external disturbance of OFS. The comparative evaluation of estimated linear displacements, in each case related to encoder data, confirms the algorithms’ operation correctness and proves the chosen sensors’ usefulness in the development of a linear displacement measuring system.

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