The Effect of impedance parameters in 7DOF upper-limb power-assist exoskeleton robot

Abstract

To assist daily life upper-limb motions of elderly or physically weak persons, many kinds of upper-limb power-assist robots have been developed. We have developed a 7DOF power-assist exoskeleton robot in which EMG-based impedance control is applied and the impedance parameters are adjusted in real time according to the upper-limb posture and EMG activity levels. The impedance parameters of human upper limb are changed by the muscle activation level and the posture of the upper-limb. Therefore, the impedance parameters in the controller should be adjusted according to the EMG activity level and the upperlimb posture in real time. In this paper, to evaluate the validity of the adjusting of the impedance parameters, the experimental studies have been performed.