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Optimal Design of Multi-linked Knee Joint for Lower Limb Wearable Robot

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Abstract

An optimal multi-linked knee joint design is proposed for lower limb wearable robots. The multi-linked knee joint combines a four-bar link and a six-bar link. The four-bar link mimics the structure of human knee joints whose rotation axis changes according to flexion. The six-bar link achieve a targeted transmission ratio between the knee joint angle and motor output angle, which reduces the inertia of the wearable robot leg by locating the motor position to the upper thigh. The kinematics of the proposed multi-linked knee joint are analyzed. Optimization problems for the design of the four-bar link to coincide its rotation axis with the human knee joint and for the design of the six-bar link to achieve the targeted transmission ratio are defined. The characteristics of the optimal design for the proposed multi-linked knee joint are analyzed via simulations, and the effectiveness of the multi-linked knee joint is experimentally verified using a motion capture system. The results of the experiments indicated that the wearer and the robot was less than 15 mm when the knee joint was gradually flexed and the transmission ratio between the knee joint and the motor was approximately 0.5.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Agency for Defense Development of Korea Goverment(912532501).

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  1. Agency for Defense Development, Daejeon, South Korea

    Young June Shin, Gwang Tae Kim & Yongcheol Kim

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  1. Young June Shin
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Correspondence to Young June Shin.

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Shin, Y.J., Kim, G.T. & Kim, Y. Optimal Design of Multi-linked Knee Joint for Lower Limb Wearable Robot. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 24, 967–976 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-023-00795-7

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