Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell
The application of exoskeleton robots has demonstrated promising effectiveness in promoting the recovery of motor skills in patients with upper limb dysfunction. However, the joint misalignment caused by rigid exoskeletons usually leads to an uncomfortable experience for users. In this work, an adap...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Mengqian Tian Yishan Liu Zhiquan Chen Xingsong Wang Qi Zhang Bin Liu |
| author_facet | Mengqian Tian Yishan Liu Zhiquan Chen Xingsong Wang Qi Zhang Bin Liu |
| author_sort | Mengqian Tian |
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| description | The application of exoskeleton robots has demonstrated promising effectiveness in promoting the recovery of motor skills in patients with upper limb dysfunction. However, the joint misalignment caused by rigid exoskeletons usually leads to an uncomfortable experience for users. In this work, an adaptive cable-driven elbow exoskeleton inspired by the structural characteristics of the shrimp shell was developed to facilitate the rehabilitation of the elbow joint and to provide more compliant human-exoskeleton interactions. The exoskeleton was specifically designed for elbow flexion and extension, with a total weight of approximately 0.6 kg. Based on the mechanical design and cable configuration of the exoskeleton, the kinematics and dynamics of driving cables were analyzed. Subsequently, a PID-based control strategy was designed with cable kinematics. To evaluate the practical performance of the proposed exoskeleton in elbow assistance, a prototype was established and experimented with six subjects. According to the experimental results, the measured elbow joint angle trajectory is generally consistent with the desired trajectory, with a mean position tracking accuracy of approximately 0.997, which supports motion stability in rehabilitation scenarios. Meanwhile, the collected sEMG values from biceps brachii and brachioradialis under the exoskeleton condition show a significant reduction in average muscle activation by 37.7% and 28.8%, respectively, compared to the condition without exoskeleton. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a1122405e5f74371901ca4ef4d9ad80b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2313-7673 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Biomimetics |
| spelling | doaj-art-a1122405e5f74371901ca4ef4d9ad80b2025-08-20T02:33:43ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732025-04-0110527110.3390/biomimetics10050271Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp ShellMengqian Tian0Yishan Liu1Zhiquan Chen2Xingsong Wang3Qi Zhang4Bin Liu5School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, ChinaSchool of Automation, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaSuzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215163, ChinaThe application of exoskeleton robots has demonstrated promising effectiveness in promoting the recovery of motor skills in patients with upper limb dysfunction. However, the joint misalignment caused by rigid exoskeletons usually leads to an uncomfortable experience for users. In this work, an adaptive cable-driven elbow exoskeleton inspired by the structural characteristics of the shrimp shell was developed to facilitate the rehabilitation of the elbow joint and to provide more compliant human-exoskeleton interactions. The exoskeleton was specifically designed for elbow flexion and extension, with a total weight of approximately 0.6 kg. Based on the mechanical design and cable configuration of the exoskeleton, the kinematics and dynamics of driving cables were analyzed. Subsequently, a PID-based control strategy was designed with cable kinematics. To evaluate the practical performance of the proposed exoskeleton in elbow assistance, a prototype was established and experimented with six subjects. According to the experimental results, the measured elbow joint angle trajectory is generally consistent with the desired trajectory, with a mean position tracking accuracy of approximately 0.997, which supports motion stability in rehabilitation scenarios. Meanwhile, the collected sEMG values from biceps brachii and brachioradialis under the exoskeleton condition show a significant reduction in average muscle activation by 37.7% and 28.8%, respectively, compared to the condition without exoskeleton.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/5/271elbow exoskeletoncable drivenshrimp shellbiomimetic designPID controlrehabilitation |
| spellingShingle | Mengqian Tian Yishan Liu Zhiquan Chen Xingsong Wang Qi Zhang Bin Liu Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell Biomimetics elbow exoskeleton cable driven shrimp shell biomimetic design PID control rehabilitation |
| title | Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell |
| title_full | Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell |
| title_fullStr | Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell |
| title_short | Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell |
| title_sort | biomimetic design and validation of an adaptive cable driven elbow exoskeleton inspired by the shrimp shell |
| topic | elbow exoskeleton cable driven shrimp shell biomimetic design PID control rehabilitation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/5/271 |
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