CC BY
11
UDC 621.865.8
SUPERSUIT - ITS PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
Oleg Vladimirovich MALYUGA
OnyxCom LLC Krasnogorsk, Russia oleg@onyxrobot.com
Abstract
Throughout our history, a person has always lacked the strength to lift heavy objects, have greater impact strength and endurance. But thanks to science and technology, people were still able to increase their power capabilities. So there were exoskeletons - special costumes that increase human strength through the outer frame.
The peculiarity of these devices is their lightness and ability to mechanically repeat all human movements. Agree, this is a great and significant achievement in modern technology, which is used in medicine, military purposes, in places with radiation hazards, construction and industry.
With the exoskeleton, the soldier can carry more weapons on him, he is largely protected from enemy bullets, faster and more active in his movements. Since the main forces of the suit takes over, a person saves more energy and, of course, their health.
And just think how useful an exoskeleton is in medicine! This is just a godsend for the disabled, who have completely lost faith in the fact that they can walk again, and the paralyzed will be able to move their limbs with the power of thought, being in a special suit.
Keywords: exoskeleton, health, development, mechanical repetition.
Since exoskeletons are universal devices, they can be used in any areas of human life where additional power is needed. You can meet them in sci-Fi literature, comics, video games and movies ("Strangers", "Iron man", "Avatar" and others).
Despite the fact that exoskeletons are already used by people in various situations, they are still developing, require improvement in laboratories and are very expensive. Let's see, which way went the exoskeletons from the moment of their creation and to this day [Afanassieva, 2014, 79].
Fig. 1. The exoskeleton is currently
The first inventor of the exoskeleton is Russian engineer Nikolai Yagn, who lived and worked in the United States, and in the 1890s patented a number of technologies that facilitated walking, running and jumping. Yagn planned to send its developments to help the military [Afanassieva, 2018, 5].
Fig. 2 Latest developments
Fig. 3 Model of modern exoskeleton.
In the 1960-ies of the General Electric company introduced the world to the development of the Hardiman suit. This device was a model of a modern exoskeleton that could lift objects weighing up to 110 kg, work on water, land and even in space. But despite all these high aspirations, the development was not successful because of the too heavy construction and slow work [Kruif, 2017,15].
Fig. 4. The exoskeleton with pneumatic actuators
In the 1970s, Yugoslavian scientist Miomir Vukobratovich created an exoskeleton with a pneumatic drive, which was supposed to help paralyzed people get back on their feet. Russian and European scientists later took the Vukobratovich project as a basis for the creation of their technologies [Galle, 2014, 51]. Thus, in the early 1980s, an exoskeleton for the disabled appeared from the Central Institute of traumatology and orthopedics named after N. N. Priorova.
The lack of energy, the slow flow of scientific and technological progress, the development of materials science and other related Sciences significantly hampered the development of exoskeletons. And only in the 2000s there were real achievements in this area [Ikeda, 1984, 44].
Scientists from the American Agency for scientific and military research DARPA in 2007 created the project Lady Warrior. This device was an unarmored and unarmed full exoskeleton that was only supposed to strengthen human hands and feet [Lee, 2012, 92].
Later in 2008, the company Cyberdyne introduced the world to the robotic suit HAL, which was characterized by significant improvements, in particular, light body, built-in computer and work from Autonomous batteries, the charge of which was enough for a couple of hours of continuous operation. The main purpose of the exoskeleton is to help disabled and paralyzed people [Long, 2018, 85].
In our time, the development of exoskeletons is increasingly gaining momentum, and companies such as Panasonic, Ekso Bionics, Lockheed Martin, DARPA and others present their devices annually at exhibitions, impressing with increasing performance and technological innovations [Wu, 2018].
Applications of exoskeletons
As you already know, the main applications of exoskeletons are military and medical. But these devices are also very useful in areas such as places with radiation hazards, or in the conquest of the ocean depths, where the robokostyum will be easier and more effective than a conventional spacesuit, as well as in the analysis of debris after an earthquake and in construction.
Exoskeletons in medicine
Robotic suits are a real innovation in medical technologies. Patients who have suffered serious injuries to the spine and limbs, paralyzed after a stroke, people can use the exoskeleton to improve their quality of life [Afanassieva, 2018, 63]. But, of course, not everyone can afford such a therapeutic device, since the average cost of a medical exoskeleton is 90 thousand us dollars.
We have already mentioned about the HAL exoskeleton from Cyberdyne. Its purpose is to provide an opportunity for people with disabilities to walk. There are two main variants of the device: HAL-3 and HAL-5. Since its presentation in 2011, 130 medical institutes in Japan have accepted HAL for service [Ashkani, 2017, 44].
The newest model of the suit weighs about 10 kg and works for 3 hours if there are no overloads. Special sensors take readings from bioelectric signals emanating from the muscles, and a computer analysis is performed to calculate the force used by servomotors [Duong, 2016, 33]. The average cost of the device is not so high — 4200 us dollars.
ReWalk by Argo Medical Technologies is another exoskeleton for people with disabilities. In June 2014, the U.S. food and drug Administration approved the exoskeleton, opening the way for commercial use. The system weighs about 23.3 kg, runs on Windows and provides the user with three modes: go, sit and stand. Cost: from 70 to 85 thousand US dollars. The device can run continuously for 8 hours [Garrido, 2016, 71].
In 2015, the company released a new version of the device ReWalk Personal 6.0, which received several improvements in the design — the braces for the legs became thinner, the support straps distribute the weight more evenly throughout the body, and the backpack, which previously contained a processor, was replaced by a less overall case. The patient, dressed in a new ReWalk, will be able to fully walk, Crouch and even climb the stairs.
Fig. 5. Model under the individual feature of the human body.
3D printing is becoming more and more popular in medicine. With the help of a 3D printer, you can create an exoskeleton for the individual characteristics of the patient's body [Kim, 2014, 67]. Thus, 3D Systems specialists scanned the body of one paralyzed patient and together with Ekso Bionics printed out an exoskeleton, which can be confidently called a robot. It is designed for people who have lost the ability to move independently on their feet. The mechanism compensates for muscular atrophy or paralysis by moving the human lower limbs independently [Li, 2012, 33]. The device is now successfully used in hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the United States.
In Russia, the development of medical exoskeletons engaged in a team of scientists at the Institute of mechanics of Moscow state University. The Russian exoskeleton project to increase the physical capabilities of a person, including the rehabilitation of people with impaired locomotor functions, is called Exoatlet. The control system is based on the signals of the brain, electromyogram and automatically ensures the movement of the patient with the repetition of the most natural human walk, which can significantly speed up the process of restoring motor and nervous activity [Ren, 2019].
Fig. 6. Illustrative example. 13
Due to the special design of the device allows you to redistribute the weight so that the human operator without the use of additional engines or power sources could carry up to 100 kg of cargo. The weight of the device is 12 kg. the price of the exoskeleton ranges from 30 thousand us dollars.
One of the latest advances in medical exoskeleton device Phoenix from American firms SuitX. At a cost of 40 thousand us dollars, the developers position it as the most affordable bionic exoskeleton. The apparatus consists of a module of the hip joint, the knee two modules, and the modules of the feet, which are adjustable to the individual needs of each patient. The walking parameters can be customized by the physiotherapist through the mobile app for Android. The device is very light, only 7 kg, can operate up to 4 hours in continuous walking at a maximum speed of 3.2 km/h. It is noteworthy that the developers are trying to reduce the cost of their device as much as possible, using inexpensive servos and sensors, and promise that in 2016 Phoenix will be available at a price of up to 20 thousand us dollars.
References
1. Afanassieva, O B. 2014. "Development of the Exoskeleton in Osteostracans (Agnatha, Vertebrata): New Evidence of Growth." Paleontological Journal 48(9): 973-79. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030114090020.
2. Afanassieva, O B. 2018. "Morphogenetic Features of the Exoskeleton in Early Jawless Vertebrates (Osteostraci, Agnatha): Geometry of the Shield Sections." Paleontological Journal 52(14): 175663. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030118140046.
3. Afanassieva, O B. 2018. "On the Modes of the Formation of the Exoskeleton in Early Jawless Vertebrates (Osteostraci, Agnatha)." Doklady Biological Sciences 478(1): 5-7. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496618010015.
4. Ashkani, O, A Maleki, and N Jamshidi. 2017. "Design, Simulation and Modelling of Auxiliary Exoskeleton to Improve Human Gait Cycle." Australasian Physical & Engineering Sciences in Medicine 40(1): 137-44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-016-0502-6.
5. de Kruif, Bas J, Emilio Schmidhauser, Konrad S Stadler, and Leonard W O'Sullivan. 2017. "Simulation Architecture for Modelling Interaction Between User and Elbow-Articulated Exoskeleton." Journal of Bionic Engineering 14(4): 706-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1672-6529(16)60437-7.
6. Duong, Mien Ka, Hong Cheng, Huu Toan Tran, and Qiu Jing. 2016. "Minimizing Human-Exoskeleton Interaction Force Using Compensation for Dynamic Uncertainty Error with Adaptive RBF Network." Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems 82(3): 413-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-015-0251-x.
7. Galle, Samuel, Philippe Malcolm, Wim Derave, and Dirk De Clercq. 2014. "Enhancing Performance during Inclined Loaded Walking with a Powered Ankle--Foot Exoskeleton." European Journal of Applied Physiology 114(11): 2341-51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2955-1.
8. Garrido, Javier, Wen Yu, and Xiaoou Li. 2016. "Modular Design and Control of an Upper Limb Exoskeleton." Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 30(5): 2265-71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-0843-1.
9. Ikeda, T, G V Nash, and P G Thomas. 1984. "An Observation of Discarded Stomach with Exoskeleton Moult from Antarctic Krill Euphausia Superba Dana." Polar Biology 3(4): 241-44. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00292631.
10. Kim, Hyo-gon, Sangdeok Park, and Changsoo Han. 2014. "Design of a Novel Knee Joint for an Exoskeleton with Good Energy Efficiency for Load-Carrying Augmentation." Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28(11): 4361-67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-014-1003-8.
11. Lee, Heedon et al. 2012. "Human-Robot Cooperative Control Based on PHRI (Physical Human-Robot Interaction) of Exoskeleton Robot for a Human Upper Extremity." International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing 13(6): 985-92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-012-0128-x.
12. Li, Jiting et al. 2012. "Development of a Hand Exoskeleton System for Index Finger Rehabilitation." Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering 25(2): 223-33. https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2012.02.223.
13. Long, Yi et al. 2018. "Physical Human-Robot Interaction Estimation Based Control Scheme for a Hydraulically Actuated Exoskeleton Designed for Power Amplification." Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering 19(9): 1076-85. https://doi.org/10.1631/FITEE.1601667.
14. Ren, Zhi, Chuanjie Deng, Kuankuan Zhao, and Zhijun Li. 2019. "The Development of a HighSpeed Lower-Limb Robotic Exoskeleton." Science China Information Sciences 62(5): 50202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-018-9717-2.
15. Wu, Cheng-Hua et al. 2018. "The Effects of Gait Training Using Powered Lower Limb Exoskeleton Robot on Individuals with Complete Spinal Cord Injury." Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 15(1): 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-018-0355-1.
