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Article

User-Centered Evaluation of the Wearable Walker Lower Limb Exoskeleton; Preliminary Assessment Based on the Experience Protocol

by
Cristian Camardella
1,*,†,
Vittorio Lippi
2,3,†,
Francesco Porcini
1,
Giulia Bassani
1,
Lucia Lencioni
4,
Christoph Mauer
3,
Christian Haverkamp
2,
Carlo Alberto Avizzano
1,
Antonio Frisoli
1 and
Alessandro Filippeschi
1
1
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Institute of Mechanical Intelligence and Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, 56127 Pisa, Italy
2
Institute of Digitalization in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center —University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
3
Clinic of Neurology and Neurophysiology, Medical Centre-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Breisacher Straße 64, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
4
Wearable Robotics S.r.L., 56010 Pisa, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Sensors 2024, 24(16), 5358; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24165358
Submission received: 13 July 2024 / Revised: 10 August 2024 / Accepted: 16 August 2024 / Published: 19 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Collection Sensors for Gait, Human Movement Analysis, and Health Monitoring)

Abstract

Using lower limb exoskeletons provides potential advantages in terms of productivity and safety associated with reduced stress. However, complex issues in human–robot interactions are still open, such as the physiological effects of exoskeletons and the impact on the user’s subjective experience. In this work, an innovative exoskeleton, the Wearable Walker, is assessed using the EXPERIENCE benchmarking protocol from the EUROBENCH project. The Wearable Walker is a lower-limb exoskeleton that enhances human abilities, such as carrying loads. The device uses a unique control approach called Blend Control that provides smooth assistance torques. It operates two models simultaneously, one in the case in which the left foot is grounded and another for the grounded right foot. These models generate assistive torques combined to provide continuous and smooth overall assistance, preventing any abrupt changes in torque due to model switching. The EXPERIENCE protocol consists of walking on flat ground while gathering physiological signals, such as heart rate, its variability, respiration rate, and galvanic skin response, and completing a questionnaire. The test was performed with five healthy subjects. The scope of the present study is twofold: to evaluate the specific exoskeleton and its current control system to gain insight into possible improvements and to present a case study for a formal and replicable benchmarking of wearable robots.
Keywords: wearable robotics; human factors and human-in-the-loop; human performance augmentation; wearable sensor networks; physical human–robot interaction wearable robotics; human factors and human-in-the-loop; human performance augmentation; wearable sensor networks; physical human–robot interaction

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MDPI and ACS Style

Camardella, C.; Lippi, V.; Porcini, F.; Bassani, G.; Lencioni, L.; Mauer, C.; Haverkamp, C.; Avizzano, C.A.; Frisoli, A.; Filippeschi, A. User-Centered Evaluation of the Wearable Walker Lower Limb Exoskeleton; Preliminary Assessment Based on the Experience Protocol. Sensors 2024, 24, 5358. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24165358

AMA Style

Camardella C, Lippi V, Porcini F, Bassani G, Lencioni L, Mauer C, Haverkamp C, Avizzano CA, Frisoli A, Filippeschi A. User-Centered Evaluation of the Wearable Walker Lower Limb Exoskeleton; Preliminary Assessment Based on the Experience Protocol. Sensors. 2024; 24(16):5358. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24165358

Chicago/Turabian Style

Camardella, Cristian, Vittorio Lippi, Francesco Porcini, Giulia Bassani, Lucia Lencioni, Christoph Mauer, Christian Haverkamp, Carlo Alberto Avizzano, Antonio Frisoli, and Alessandro Filippeschi. 2024. "User-Centered Evaluation of the Wearable Walker Lower Limb Exoskeleton; Preliminary Assessment Based on the Experience Protocol" Sensors 24, no. 16: 5358. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24165358

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