Authors: Michael Olson
Mentors: Nathan Usevitch
Insitution: Brigham Young University
Wearable robotic devices are versatile for assisting users in many scenarios. These devices could provide therapy treatments to users recovering from injuries, provide support for factory workers who commonly perform repetitive tasks (in 2021 there were over two million work-related injuries in the US) and aid motion for elderly people with limited mobility. Whereas other assistive devices require external machinery and infrastructure, a wearable device makes it possible to provide aid during activities of daily living, and in normal work scenarios. Wearable tech can reduce metabolic work required to complete a variety of simple tasks, can enable a user to accomplish tasks normally requiring greater strength than they possess, and can help improve motion capabilities of users in cases of limited mobility.
At BYU, we are developing a wearable system to assist user's elbow motion. Our design uses a system of motors mounted on a backpack frame. These motors connect to the assistive sleeve through a set of Bowden cables. We are developing a general mechatronic platform that can be used to actuate several different sleeve designs.
Developing this platform enables us to quickly experiment with different sleeve designs and cable routings. The system uses three pairs of motors per arm: one pair for arm pronation and supination (wrist rotation), one pair for elbow extension and flexion (like doing a bicep curl), and one pair for medial or lateral rotation (rotation of the arm to the left or right). When one motor tenses to provide force to move the arm in a particular direction, the other motor relaxes, enabling the arm to travel in that direction. The motors are controlled by an Arduino Nano 33 interfaced with a laptop, and the device could be modified to be compatible with an X-Box controller connected to Robot Operating System (ROS), providing wireless control for arm motion. Potential applications may include rehabilitation, mobility assistance, and assistance with repeated tasks.