Design and Characterization of a Torque-Controllable Actuator for Knee Assistance during Sit-to-Stand

Individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis often have difficulty standing out of a chair. One way to potentially improve sit-to-stand is to provide knee extension assistance using a powered knee exoskeleton. An exoskeleton providing unilateral, partial assistance during sit-to-stand would need to be torque-controllable. There are no knee exoskeletons on the market suitable for conducting experiments assisting stroke patients with sit-to-stand, so to enable such experiments a research device was developed. The purpose of this report is to present the design of a novel knee exoskeleton actuator that uses a fiberglass leaf spring in series to improve torque-controllability, and present a characterization of the actuator performance. The actuator is capable of the required torque and speed for sit-to-stand, has high bandwidth (25 Hz), low output impedance at low frequencies (< 0.5 Nm), and excellent torque tracking. An orthotic brace built upon this actuator will enable an in-depth study on the biomechanical effects of providing stroke subjects with knee extension assistance during sit-to-stand.