Robotic walking aids for disabled persons

This paper presents the results of theoretical and experimental studies carried towards design and development of robotic walking aids for spinal cord injured (SCI) persons. The current orthoses technologies are reviewed and survey results from SCI people are used to identify the real requirements from users' viewpoint. These include providing the capability to perform sitting to standing and vice versa, walking and standing tasks. Powering and actuator selection, as well as control and user interface design issues are discussed in this work. Results from rig tests are presented as well as how actuator size, (and hence power consumption) can be reduced by adopting energy storage devices at the joint level. Results of a prototype robotized walking system are also presented.