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Session: Poster session I
Session starts: Thursday 24 January, 15:00

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Allan Veale (University of Twente)
Kyrian Staman (University of Twente)
Herman van der Kooij (University of Twente)

Abstract:
Wearable robots enhance the ability of their wearers to physically interact with the world, and can benefit rehabilitation efficiency, assistive devices' effectiveness, and ergonomic support of workers. Wearable robots' ergonomics and safety can be promoted by using actuators made of soft materials, but soft actuators in the literature are unable to produce the high torques required for lower limb activities of daily living (ADLs), for example, extension of the knee for sit-to-stand (STS). This paper presents and validates a method for realizing a soft high torque actuator, the pleated pneumatic interference actuator (PIA), for knee extension. Compared to a PIA, the pleated PIA is able to produce a greater torque and a torque when straight. A pleated PIA integrated into pants was shown to produce a knee extension torque that increased with both pressure and angle, as predicted theoretically. This actuator produced a maximum torque of 163 Nm at 4 bar and was able to provide complete knee extension support through 61 % of the range of the STS motion. Future work will improve the pleated PIA’s ability to generate torques at lower bending angles so it can provide complete support through the whole STS motion.