Design and development of an assistive walking system

Abstract

This report aims to present the development of a powered orthosis, the Assistive

Walking System (AWS). This system provides patients the muscular strength

necessary for ambulation and provides lumbar and postural support required for

proper balance during walking.

Traditionally, patients with walking disabilities would subscribe to a regimental

program at the gait rehabilitation clinic. In the recent years, gait rehabilitation via

robot technology has advanced to assist and complement the work by gait therapists.

Such robotic systems have moved away from the stationary gait trainers, such as the

Lokomat [1] and the AutoAmbulator [2] to portable devices like the ReWalkTM [3]

and the HAL [4] exoskeleton. These portable offerings allow patients to achieve a

more natural walking gait and undergo effective gait rehabilitation in an environment

closer to home at their own pace. The design and development of an assistive

walking system can provide instantaneous benefits and positive influences on the

patient’s quality of life.

This report will present the initial analysis of a patient volunteer’s condition and the

analysis of portable gait devices which are found to not suitable for paraplegics at all

stages of gait rehabilitation and does not provide postural and weight balance

support. An initial conceptual idea was developed through the findings and design

requirements. Suitable mechanical components are then selected and improved

through clinical trials embodiment design, leading to the development of the current

AWS prototype. The detailed design of the AWS can be found in this report.

Finally, a control and operation strategy for the AWS is proposed and the relevant

testing was conducted and found to be largely effective but more testing and

configuration must be done for the AWS operation after the prototype has been

fabricated and assembled.