A QUASI-PASSIVE LEG EXOSKELETON FOR LOAD-CARRYING AUGMENTATION

TLDR

The study presents a quasi‑passive leg exoskeleton designed to augment load‑carrying during walking. The device employs ankle and hip springs and a knee variable‑damper, operating without actuators. In tests, the 11.7‑kg exoskeleton consumes only 2 W of power, transfers ~80 % of a 36‑kg payload to the ground, and increases walking metabolic cost by 10 % versus a backpack, outperforming a zero‑impedance version that raises cost by 23 %.

Abstract

A quasi-passive leg exoskeleton is presented for load-carrying augmentation during walking. The exoskeleton has no actuators, only ankle and hip springs and a knee variable-damper. Without a payload, the exoskeleton weighs 11.7 kg and requires only 2 Watts of electrical power during loaded walking. For a 36 kg payload, we demonstrate that the quasi-passive exoskeleton transfers on average 80% of the load to the ground during the single support phase of walking. By measuring the rate of oxygen consumption on a study participant walking at a self-selected speed, we find that the exoskeleton slightly increases the walking metabolic cost of transport (COT) as compared to a standard loaded backpack (10% increase). However, a similar exoskeleton without joint springs or damping control (zero-impedance exoskeleton) is found to increase COT by 23% compared to the loaded backpack, highlighting the benefits of passive and quasi-passive joint mechanisms in the design of efficient, low-mass leg exoskeletons.