Biomimetic Design and Validation of an Adaptive Cable-Driven Elbow Exoskeleton Inspired by the Shrimp Shell.

Abstract

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.