Reducing the energy cost of walking with low assistance levels through optimized hip flexion assistance from a soft exosuit.

ABSTRACT: As we age, humans see natural decreases in muscle force and power which leads to a slower, less efficient gait. Improving mobility for both healthy individuals and those with muscle impairments/weakness has been a goal for exoskeleton designers for decades. In this work, we discover that significant reductions in the energy cost required for walking can be achieved with almost 50% less mechanical power compared to the state of the art. This was achieved by leveraging human-in-the-loop optimization to understand the importance of individualized assistance for hip flexion, a relatively unexplored joint motion. Specifically, we show that a tethered hip flexion exosuit can reduce the metabolic rate of walking by up to 15.2 ± 2.6%, compared to locomotion with assistance turned off (equivalent t

SUBMITTER: Kim J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9243082 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature