Dynamic Modeling and Motion Control of a Cable-Driven Robotic Exoskeleton with Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Actuators

This paper presents the design, dynamic modeling and motion control of a novel cable-driven upper limb robotic exoskeleton for a rehabilitation exercising. The proposed four degree-of-freedom robotic exoskeleton, actuated by pneumatic artificial muscle actuators, is characterized by a safe, compact, and lightweight structure, complying with the motion of an upper limb as close as possible. In order to perform a passive rehabilitation exercise, the dynamic models were developed by the Lagrange formulation in terms of quasi coordinates combined with the virtual work principle, and then the adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control was designed for the rehabilitation trajectory control. Finally, rehabilitation experiments were conducted to validate the prototype of upper limb robotic exoskeleton and the controller design.