Diseño y control de un exosuit basado en sinergias para asistir la marcha en el tren inferior

Resumen

According to the most recent report by the United Nations dated 20192, the world population above the age of 65 years was 9%, a number that was projected to hit 16% by the year 2050. Ageing tends to give rise to problems in mobility as muscles become weaker, joints become stressed, and the body itself slows down overall. This thesis aims to contribute to the third part of ’Sustainable Development’: Ensure healthy living and promote wellness for all at all ages. It describes the design of a soft exoskeleton otherwise known as an exosuit, with the aim of aiding the mobility of the wearer. The initial prototype will be directed to help elderly people who have reduced mobility and/or abnormal gait. The entire exosuit will be designed around on the basis of kinematic synergies, which decodes the information contained in the subject’s kinematics so as to reduce the number of actuators per leg, thereby reducing the overall requirements for actuation and the total weight of the device. The primary challenges of the project will be the implementation of kinematic synergies in an exosuit driven by motors and cables, detection of gait phases as well as optimizing the total control scheme. As a precursor, a modular test bench will be designed to facilitate testing of various types of mounting options and control schemes. Once an appropriate solution is achieved, the same will be implemented to construct a prototype exosuit and its effectiveness will be evaluated.