Wearable Power Assist Device for Standing Up Motion Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles

Toshiro Noritsugu; Daisuke Sasaki; Masafumi Kameda; Atsushi Fukunaga; Masahiro Takaiwa

doi:10.20965/jrm.2007.p0619

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JRM Vol.19 No.6 pp. 619-628

doi: 10.20965/jrm.2007.p0619

(2007)

Paper:

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Wearable Power Assist Device for Standing Up Motion Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles

Toshiro Noritsugu^, Daisuke Sasaki^, Masafumi Kameda^,
Atsushi Fukunaga^, and Masahiro Takaiwa^

^*The Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushimanaka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan

^**Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., 1-1 Kawasaki, Akashi, Hyogo 673-8666, Japan

^***Welding System Department, Welding Company, Kobe Steel, Ltd., 100-1 Miyamae, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 251-8551, Japan

Received:

March 28, 2007

Accepted:

July 30, 2007

Published:

December 20, 2007

Keywords:

welfare robot, wearable power assist, pneumatics, rubber artificial muscle, standing up motion

Abstract

As society ages and birth rates fall, the dropping number of caregivers for an increasingly elderly population is expected to become a serious problem, raising the need for devices to assist those having difficulty in leading independent lives. These devices must be used near or directly on their users, making safety and user-friendliness equally important. This raises the need for safe, user-friendly actuators that are compact, lightweight, and appropriately soft. The pneumatic rubber artificial muscle meets this requirement. We developed a wearable power assist device that aids people in standing and uses the McKibben pneumatic rubber artificial muscle. We discuss its structure, basic features, and control. We also present an example of its application to rehabilitation.

Cite this article as:

T. Noritsugu, D. Sasaki, M. Kameda, A. Fukunaga, and M. Takaiwa, “Wearable Power Assist Device for Standing Up Motion Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.19 No.6, pp. 619-628, 2007.

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References

[1] S. Ruszala and I. Musa, “An evaluation of equipment to assist patient sit-to-stand activities in physiotherapy,” Physiotherapy Vol.91, Issue 1, pp. 35-41, 2005.
[2] K. Nagai, I. Nakanishi, and H. Hanafusa, “Assistance of selftransfer of patients using a power-assisting device,” Proc. of the IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, pp. 4008-4015, 2003.
[3] T. Noritsugu, M. Takaiwa, and D. Sasaki, “Development of Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscle for Human Support Applications,” Proc. of the Ninth Scandinavian Int. Conf. on Fluid Power, 2005.
[4] T. Noritsugu, “Pneumatic Soft Actuator for Human Assist Technology,” Proc. of the 6th JFPS Int. Symposium on Fluid Power, Special lecture, pp. 11-20, 2005.
[5] D. P. Greene and S. L. Roberts, “Kinesiology Movement in the Context Activity,” Mosby, 1999.
[6] Y. Ehara and S. Yamamoto, “Introduction to Body-Dynamics – Analysis of Standing up Motion,” Ishiyakupublishers, Inc., pp. 11-15, 2001 (in Japanese).

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] S. Ruszala and I. Musa, “An evaluation of equipment to assist patient sit-to-stand activities in physiotherapy,” Physiotherapy Vol.91, Issue 1, pp. 35-41, 2005.

[2] [2] K. Nagai, I. Nakanishi, and H. Hanafusa, “Assistance of selftransfer of patients using a power-assisting device,” Proc. of the IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, pp. 4008-4015, 2003.

[3] [3] T. Noritsugu, M. Takaiwa, and D. Sasaki, “Development of Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscle for Human Support Applications,” Proc. of the Ninth Scandinavian Int. Conf. on Fluid Power, 2005.

[4] [4] T. Noritsugu, “Pneumatic Soft Actuator for Human Assist Technology,” Proc. of the 6th JFPS Int. Symposium on Fluid Power, Special lecture, pp. 11-20, 2005.

[5] [5] D. P. Greene and S. L. Roberts, “Kinesiology Movement in the Context Activity,” Mosby, 1999.

[6] [6] Y. Ehara and S. Yamamoto, “Introduction to Body-Dynamics – Analysis of Standing up Motion,” Ishiyakupublishers, Inc., pp. 11-15, 2001 (in Japanese).

Wearable Power Assist Device for Standing Up Motion Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles

Toshiro Noritsugu*, Daisuke Sasaki*, Masafumi Kameda**, Atsushi Fukunaga***, and Masahiro Takaiwa*

Toshiro Noritsugu^, Daisuke Sasaki^, Masafumi Kameda^,
Atsushi Fukunaga^, and Masahiro Takaiwa^