A muscle suit for the upper body: development of a new shoulder mechanism

Abstract

A "muscle suit" that provides muscular support for the paralyzed or those otherwise unable to move unaided is being developed as a wearable robot. The lack of a metal frame and use of McKibben artificial muscle allow the muscle suit to be lightweight, making it realistic to use in daily life. Although all motion for the upper limb by the armor-type muscle suit with the mechanical joints and hard frame is realized, shoulder joints has difficulty in smooth motion because of DOF limitation. To overcome the limitation, new link mechanism is proposed and smooth motion for shoulder is achieved.