Human Gait During Level Walking With an Occupational Whole-Body Powered Exoskeleton: Not Yet a Walk in the Park
Human Gait During Level Walking With an Occupational Whole-Body Powered Exoskeleton: Not Yet a Walk in the Park
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DOI：
10.1109/access.2021.3068836
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发表时间：
2021
期刊：
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Sunwook Kim;D. Srinivasan;M. Nussbaum;A. Leonessa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Sunwook Kim;D. Srinivasan;M. Nussbaum;A. Leonessa
随着外骨骼技术的快速发展，一种用于增强人体体能的全身动力外骨骼(WB-PEXO)(超级操作者)作为工业4.0的组成部分正受到越来越多的关注。然而，我们对WB-PEXO使用的理解是滞后的，这主要是因为缺乏通过人体受试者测试WB-PEXO的详细评估。我们研究了(独立于WB-PEXO制造商)在工作场所常见的基本活动-水平行走期间使用最先进的WB-PEXO原型(Sarcos Guardian®XO®的Pre-Alpha原型版本)对用户(n=5美元)的潜在影响。以“人”为重点，评估了使用XO(与不使用EXO基线相比)对下肢节段间协调性、肌肉活动和姿势动态稳定性的影响。在使用XO的节段间协调方面，参与者之间观察到了更大的差异，参与者似乎更依赖髋部运动。当使用XO时，受试者在被监测的下肢肌肉组中表现出更高的肌肉活动水平。此外，XO和非EXO条件下的肌肉活动谱有中等到高度的相似性($R_{xy}\Left({\tau}\right)=0.70-0.92)，但使用XO时的肌肉活动谱通常比不使用XO时的肌肉活动谱滞后。我们在开发XO行走的心理模型的背景下讨论了结果，以及人-机器人交互的方面，如XO的透明度和理解用户状态和意图。最后，我们概述了职业性WB-PEXO发展的几个未来研究课题。
With rapid advancements in exoskeleton technologies, a whole-body powered exoskeleton (WB-PEXO) for augmenting human physical capacity (a “super-operator”) is generating increasing attention as an integral part of Industry 4.0. Our understanding of WB-PEXO use is lagging, however, largely due to the lack of detailed evaluations via human-subjects testing of a WB-PEXO. We examined (independently from the manufacturer of a WB-PEXO) the potential impacts of using a state-of-the-art WB-PEXO prototype (pre-alpha prototype version of the Sarcos Guardian® XO®) on users ( $n=5$ ) during a common basic activity in the workplace, level walking. With emphasis on the “human”, impacts of XO use (compared to a no EXO baseline) were assessed in terms of lower limb intersegmental coordination, muscle activity, and postural dynamic stability. A larger variance between participants was observed for intersegmental coordination with XO use, and participants appeared to rely on more hip motions. When using the XO, participants exhibited higher muscle activity levels in the lower limb muscle groups monitored. Further, there was a moderate to high similarity in muscle activity profiles between the XO and no EXO conditions ( $R_{XY}\left ({\tau }\right)=0.70-0.92)$ , yet muscle activity profiles when using the XO were generally time-lagged from those without the XO. We discuss the results within the context of developing a mental model for walking with the XO, and aspects of human-robot interaction such as transparency of the XO and understanding user state and intention. In concluding, we outline several future research topics for occupational WB-PEXO development.