Investigating change of discomfort during repetitive force exertion though an exoskeleton cuff

Bessler-Etten, Jule; Schaake, Leendert; Buurke, Jaap H.; Prange-Lasonder, Gerdienke B.

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2023.104055

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Insufficient amplitudes relative to the 6/13 demands of the task result in low metabolic gains below the perception threshold of the users 30 , thus failing to encourage adoption. On the other hand, excessive levels of assistance lead to discomfort 31 , induce unnatural movements 32 (such as the significant increase in hip RoM observed in the Outdoor Init. and Incline Init.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Hip Exoskeleton Control using Heart Rate Feedback Reduces Oxygen Cost during Ecological Locomotion

Manzoori,

Malatesta,

Mortier

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite their potential, exoskeletons have not reached widespread adoption in daily life, partly due to the challenge of seamlessly adapting assistance across various tasks and environments. Task-specific designs, reliance on complex sensing and extensive data-driven training often limit the practicality of the existing control strategies. To address this challenge, we introduce an adaptive control strategy for hip exoskeletons, emphasizing minimal sensing and rapid deployability. Using only insole pressure and heart rate (HR) sensing, the controller modulates assistance across various locomotion tasks. We evaluated this strategy with twelve able-bodied participants in a real-world scenario including level walking, stairs, and inclines. The controller successfully adapted assistance timing and amplitude to different activities. This resulted in effort intensity reductions (measured by oxygen uptake) of up to 12.6\% compared to normal walking, and up to 25.5\% compared to walking with the passive exoskeleton. Cardiodynamic response of HR, although delayed, proved sufficient for adaptation in most tasks, and delay-induced limitations primarily affected brief bouts of abrupt change in intensity. However, we found discernible patterns in HR shortly after the onset of such changes that can be exploited to improve responsiveness. Our findings underscore the potential of HR as a promising measure of user effort intensity, encouraging future research to explore its integration into advanced adaptive algorithms.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Hip Exoskeleton Control using Heart Rate Feedback Reduces Oxygen Cost during Ecological Locomotion

Manzoori,

Malatesta,

Mortier

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Adaptive hip exoskeleton control using heart rate feedback reduces oxygen cost during ecological locomotion

Manzoori,

Malatesta,

Mortier

et al. 2025

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite their potential, exoskeletons have not reached widespread adoption in daily life, partly due to the challenge of seamlessly adapting assistance across various tasks and environments. Task-specific designs, reliance on complex sensing and extensive data-driven training often limit the practicality of the existing control strategies. To address this challenge, we introduce an adaptive control strategy for hip exoskeletons, emphasizing minimal sensing and ease of implementation. Using only insole pressure and heart rate (HR) sensing, the controller modulates assistance across various locomotor tasks. We evaluated this strategy with twelve able-bodied participants in a real-world scenario including level walking, stairs, and inclines. The controller successfully adapted assistance timing and amplitude to different activities. This resulted in effort intensity reductions (measured by oxygen uptake) of up to 12.6% compared to walking with no exoskeleton, and up to 25.5% compared to walking with the exoskeleton in zero-torque mode. Cardiodynamic response of HR, although delayed, proved sufficient for adaptation in tasks lasting longer than around 45 s, and delay-induced limitations primarily affected brief bouts of abrupt change in intensity. However, we found discernible patterns in HR shortly after the onset of such changes that can be exploited to improve responsiveness. Our findings underscore the potential of HR as a promising measure of user effort intensity, encouraging future research to explore its integration into advanced adaptive algorithms.

show abstract

The Role of Strapping Forces on Human Exoskeleton Interaction Pressure - A Pilot Study

Massardi,

Lancini,

Moreno

et al. 2024

2024 7th Iberian Robotics Conference (ROBOT)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Investigating change of discomfort during repetitive force exertion though an exoskeleton cuff

Cited by 3 publications

References 24 publications

Adaptive Hip Exoskeleton Control using Heart Rate Feedback Reduces Oxygen Cost during Ecological Locomotion

Adaptive Hip Exoskeleton Control using Heart Rate Feedback Reduces Oxygen Cost during Ecological Locomotion

Adaptive hip exoskeleton control using heart rate feedback reduces oxygen cost during ecological locomotion

The Role of Strapping Forces on Human Exoskeleton Interaction Pressure - A Pilot Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About