Development of a Series Elastic Actuator for Active

Knee Exoskeleton

Oishee Mazumder,
1
Ananda Sankar Kundu
1
, ,Karan Gupta
2
, Subhasis Bhaumik
1

1
School of Mechatronics & Robotics
Bengal Engineering & Science University, Shibpur
Kolkata, India
2
Vertex Robotics, Mumbai, India
oisheemazumder@yahoo.co.in, ananda_sankar@msn.com, sbhaumik_besu@yahoo.co.in, neo.karan.g@gmail.com


Abstractthis paper describes the design and development of
a series elastic actuator for active knee exoskeleton which can be
used for rehabilitation and load augmentation purposes. The
device consists of a motorized ball screw mechanism along with a
spring placed between the motor and load. The spring strain is
measured to get accurate estimate of force which can be
controlled for amplifying force according to users intention. This
device can also be used to mimic human knee motion during
walking by controlling the impedance of the device during
various phases of gait accordingly. Modeling, specifications and
preliminary test result of series elastic actuator based exoskeleton
knee has been provided in this paper.
This device has huge application in the field of rehabilitation
robotics.
Keywordsexoskeleton; series elastic actuator; gait cycle; load
augmentation;
I. INTRODUCTION
The basic concept for exoskeleton systems have been
suggested and developed for over a century with applications
ranging from construction, manufacturing and mining to
rescue and emergency services. In recent years, research has
been driven by possible uses in medical rehabilitation and
military applications. The importance of research and
development in assistance technologies to compensate
pathological gait have been recognized since the beginning of
the twentieth century and numerous challenges still lie ahead
to make their clinical application a reality. Within the last
decade, research in the area of exoskeletons and active
orthoses has experienced a revival. These efforts are split
between developing technologies to augment the abilities of
able bodied humans, often for military purposes and
developing assistive technologies for handicapped persons.
Despite the differences in intended use, these two fields face
many of the same challenges and constraints, particularly
related to portability and interfacing closely to a human
operator. In any exoskeleton design a high level of human
machine interaction is required.

The interface between an actuator and its load is commonly
designed to be as rigid as possible, (Pratt & Williamson 1995).
[1, 2] Increasing stiffness improves precision, stability and
position control bandwidth. However, the use of such interface
may incur some problems like friction, torque oscillations and
noise. According to Pratt et.al [2], an impedance control
interface is generally required when there is human-machine
contact. Series elastic actuators present ideal characteristics
for use in human-machine interaction like force control,
impedance control (possibility of low impedance), impact
absorption, low friction and bandwidth.

The idea behind the series elastic actuator is the inclusion of
an elastic component between the motors output and the load.
The measurement of the elastic deformation is related to the
applied load force, trough the dynamic characteristic of the
spring. The series compliance increases force fidelity, a
property especially useful in the impedance controlled
applications in fields such as wearable robotics and human-
machine interfacing [3]-[8].

SEAs have been implemented successfully in lower extremity
prosthetic and exoskeleton devices for medical purpose as
well as load augmentation. Au et al. used series and parallel
elasticity in the design of a powered ankle prosthesis [13],
which was shown to lower the metabolic cost of walking in
transtibial amputees [11]. Additionally, Veneman et al. [7]
designed a lower extremity exoskeleton using Bowden cable
driven SEAs. BLEEX [9] and Roboknee[16] are two very
popular series elastic actuator based exoskeleton design which
focuses on load augmentation and force amplification.

In this paper, we describe the design specification and
modeling of a series elastic actuator that we have developed
for an active knee exoskeleton. Preliminary test results are
provided for design validation. A force measurement scheme
for control application has been implemented. The concept of
controlling the impedance for normal walking and force
amplification modes are outlined.
II. SERIES ELASTIC ACTUATOR
Series elastic actuators are devices where elastic components
are introduced between the motors output and the load. From
the deflection of these components, it is possible to measure
the force applied to the load and to control it. Also, the
mechanical impedance of the actuator/load interface can be
regulated to the typical values of joints stiffness and damping
presented by humans during the walking.

The SEA consists of a DC motor fixed to a ball screw
followed by an elastic coupling. The platform motion is driven
by the nut, which converts the rotational ball screw movement
into linear movement of the platform. To obtain force and
impedance control of the actuator a set of springs are
introduced between the platform and the end effector. When
the DC motor is driven, the nut moves forward or backward,
compressing the pair of springs. The springs apply force to the
load through the end effector.

The force and impedance control is done by measuring the
spring deflection and by the Hookes law, F=k.x the force
applied to the load is calculated.

A. Modelling
Series elastic actuators can be modeled as a second order
spring mass damper system along with driving force on the
mass and position input from spring.

Fig. 1. Mass spring model for the Series Elastic Actuator.
System equation with equivalent motor mass m
m
, damper
coefficient b
m
, and elastic constant k given by
.. .
m
m
x
m
+b
m
x
m
= F
m
-F
l
(1)
F
l
= k (x
m
-x
l
) (2)

Where x
m
is the linear position of the lead-screw nut, x
l
is the
load position, F
m
is the force generated by the motor and
output force F
l
. The damper coefficient b
m
is found from the
force and velocity constraint of the DC motor

b
m
= Fmax/Vmax (3)

where Fmax and Vmax are maximum force and velocity the
DC motor can reach, respectively. Force F
l
, which drives the
load, is therefore function of F
m
and x
l
,

F
l
(s) = F
m
(s)-(m
m
s
2
+b
m
s)x
l
(s)
m
m
s
2
/k+ b
m
s/k+1

The force applied to the load thus can be controlled by a
closed loop system with feedback by measuring the deflection
of the springs.
III. DEVICE DESIGN
A solid model of the actuator module is shown in Fig. 2. A 200W
brushed DC motor is used as the main actuator. The motion is
then transferred to a ball screw system through a belt pulley
system. The reduction ratio of the belt-pulley is kept as 3:1. Belt
pulley system ensures minimum play compared to spur gear type
reduction. Also the belt acts as a safety link between the main
actuator and the DC motor. The linear guide assembly for the ball
screw is supported by two sets of stainless steel rod and linear
bearings. Finally the driven end of the linear actuator is again
connected to another platform through two sets of springs.


Fig. 2. Model of the developed Series Elastic Actuator

TABLE I. SPECIFICATION OF THE SERIES ELASTIC ACTUATOR

Total length of actuator 0.3 m
Travel length of actuator 0.12m
Carriage Speed 0.2 m/sec
Compressive force on actuator 750N
Weight 2.5 kg
Gear reduction by timing belt 3:1
Damping spring stiffness 100KN-M
Ball screw pitch 4mm
Motor operating voltage 24 V

The module will be assembled with a knee brace mechanism. For
normal activities, range of knee motion varies from zero to sixty
degree during walking and at most 110 degrees for squatting or
kicking and torque requirement can be as high as 130Nm. Design
has been made based on knee biomechanics with respect to angle,
velocity and torque requirement. Standard biomechanical curve
are provided in Fig.3. Fig 4a and 4b shows the actuator operation
during different knee movements.


Fig.3. Biomechanics curve for knee motion
A. Control
The exoskeleton will be controlled in two modes. First mode is
for estimating the gait phase and knee angle to reproduce knee
action during walking. For this we need to mimic the knee
behavior in terms of trajectory and torque response. This mode
will be implemented by developing a closed loop position servo
for tracing knee trajectory at swing phase and impedance control
by controlling spring stiffness in the stance phase. Optical
encoder, potentiometer or special infra red sensor like
phototransistor reflective object sensor will be used to implement
position control of the spring carriage.



Fig.4. SEA motion with knee bending

Second mode is force amplification mode for load augmentation
purpose. The device will be programmed to perform force
amplification in such a way that the force required by the
quadriceps muscle is significantly less than what would be
required without the device. For this we first need to estimate the
intent of the user and then amplify the force. User intention can
be tuned with respect to load as per users comfort. On
application of load, spring will be compressed and the
compression will be measured by an IR position sensor. An
embedded program will operate and control the actuator once a
specified load threshold is crossed.

Along with users comfort load tuning, EMG of the user from
quadriceps muscle will also be extracted and processed to get the
user intent. Fusing EMG data along with load data for particular
user will ease the controllability of the system. Force control will
be implemented using a closed loop PD control in embedded
platform.



Fig.5. Photo of the manufactured prototype
IV EVALUATION
The prototype developed (Fig.5) was tested for evaluating
its basic specification and performances. Performance of the
motor was tested via plotting load vs. power curve of the
motor. Table II shows the result of the experiment and Fig.7
shows the experimental set up. Fig.8 shows the load vs. power
curve which gives us an idea about the power requirement
during activities.
TABLE II POWER LOAD CHARECTERISTICS OF SEA
SL.NO VOLTAGE CURRENT POWER LOAD
1 2.3 6.57 15.11 9.6
2 2.6 7.6 19.76 13.85
3 2.9 7.68 22.272 15.10
4 3.2 8.44 27.008 18.54
5 3.6 11.01 39.363 22.80
6 4 11.87 47.48 26.12
7 4.6 14.38 66.148 32.24
8 4.7 14.89 69.983 34.30
9 5.2 14.88 77.363 38.36
10 5.4 16.74 90.396 40.5
11 6.0 18.06 108.36 43.12


Fig.6. experimental set up for measuring load vs. power
Fig.7. Load vs. power characteristic curve for the developed
SEA
Another experiment was conducted to measure the spring
stiffness and variation of spring compression with respect to
load. A phototransistor reflective object sensor was placed
between the moving plates of the device. The sensor is
interfaced with a 10 bit ADC. On application of load, the
sensor reading and corresponding spring compression was
measured simultaneously. Experiment set up is shown in Fig.8.
From the readings obtained we can map users comfort index
or intention with load and spring movement to control the
device in force amplification mode. Response between applied
load and spring compression is plotted in Fig.9.
TABLE III LOAD VS. SPRING COMPRESSION AND CARRIAGE
DISPLACEMENT
SL.N0 LOAD(Kg) VERNIER
READING(mm)
CHANGE
IN
READING
SENSOR
READING
1 NO LOAD 75.95 0 660
2 1 75.70 0.25 606
3 2 75.66 0.29 503
4 3 75.55 0.40 440
5 4 75.45 0.50 363
6 5 75.34 0.61 343
7 6 75.20 0.75 281
8 7 75.09 0.86 266
9 8 74.99 0.96 246
10 9 74.89 1.06 218
11 10 74.65 1.30 201


Fig.8. Experimental set up to measure carriage displacement
with load
V.DISCUSSIONS
In this paper, we have presented the design development and
initial evaluation result related to a series elastic actuator
working as a knee joint exoskeleton. We have manufactured
the prototype and work is going on to provide the actuator
with some position command related to knee movement and
move the actuator as a position servo to mimic the action of
human knee. Separate controller for position servoing and
force feedback will be developed. Our next prototype will
include controllers and human intention detection sensors.


Fig 9. Load vs. spring compression.

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