Human body enhancement is an interesting branch of robotics. It focuses on wearable robots in order to improve the performance of human body, reduce energy consumption and delay fatigue, as well as increase body speed. Robot-assisted equipment, such as wearable exoskeletons, are wearable robot systems that integrate human intelligence and robot power. After careful design and adaptation, the human body has energy-saving sports, but it is an arduous task for the exoskeleton to achieve considerable reduction in metabolic rate. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the biomechanics of human sports, the body, and its weaknesses. In this study, a lower limb exoskeleton was classified according to the power source, and the working principle, design idea, wearing mode, material and performance of different types of lower limb exoskeletons were compared and analyzed. The study shows that the unpowered exoskeleton robot has inherent advantages in endurance, mass, volume, and cost, which is a new development direction of robot exoskeletons. This paper not only summarizes the existing research but also points out its shortcomings through the comparative analysis of different lower limb wearable exoskeletons. Furthermore, improvement measures suitable for practical application have been provided.

The application of an effective and reliable foot type classification method is very important for foot type judgment, injury risk assessment, and correction. Therefore, this paper mainly aims to propose a new foot type classification method for young people based on bitmap index (BI), compare it with the traditional footprint classification method, and put forward and analyze the factors affecting foot type classification. Thirty-one healthy volunteers were asked to perform two types tests in order to study the plantar pressure distribution with static and dynamic conditions, the first type is footprint test with full load of static, and the other type is plantar pressure distribution, which contains four different tests: no load, half load, and full load of static state, as well as dynamic plantar pressure distribution during process of walking. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient results (ICC) were good reliable and reproducible for BI value with dynamic test (DT-BI value 0.738, 95% confidence interval [0.535, 0.848], [Formula: see text]) and full-load (FL-BI value 0.725 [0.281, 0.814], [Formula: see text], p < 0.001), obtained with individual measures and a two-way mixed-effects model. It can be seen from Kappa coefficient and density map that DT-BI has high classification accuracy. Classification of foot type based on bitmap index values showed good reliability in people with varying BMI, which can help clinicians and researchers segment the sample population to better distinguish between different foot types of activity, gait or treatment effects.

In order to solve poor coordination between the exoskeleton and the human leg, this article analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of lower limb motion using data collection from human walking gait experiments. According to the macro- and micro-motion mechanisms of the knee joint, six knee exoskeleton configurations were proposed. Combined with the analysis of gait characteristics, mathematical models for lower limb kinematics and dynamics were established and verified with numerical simulation. Using human–machine coupling simulation experiments, different knee exoskeleton devices were simulated for wear, and a configuration of the exoskeleton mechanism compatible with human knee motion was selected, which improved human–machine adaptability and coordination. This study provides a new method for studying adaptive knee exoskeletons.

On the basis of analyzing the movement law of 3D circular braided yarn, the three-cell model of 3D five-direction circular braiding composite material is established. By analyzing the node position relationship in various cell models, the calculation formulas of braiding angle, cell volume, fiber volume and fiber volume content in various cell models are obtained. It is found that there are four different braiding angles in four internal cells, and the braiding angles in internal cells gradually increase from inside to outside. The braiding angles of upper and lower surface cells are approximately equal. With the increase of the length of the knuckles, the braiding angles of each cell decrease, and the braiding angles of the four inner cells decrease greatly, while the braiding angles of upper and lower surfaces decrease slightly. The results of parametric analysis showed that with the increase of the length of the knuckles and the inner diameter of cells, the mass of cells increased proportionally, while the total fiber volume content of cells decreased. With the increase of braiding yarn number and axial yarn number, the unit cell mass decreases in direct proportion, and the unit cell total fiber volume content increases. Through the research results of this paper, the geometrical characteristics of the cell model under different braided parameters can be obtained, which greatly improves the analysis efficiency.

No abstract