A method of controlling a mobility device and related device including at least one actuator component that drives at least one joint component is described. The control method may include executing a control application with an electronic controller to perform: receiving a command in the control system of the mobility device for initiating an automated assessment and adjustment protocol; controlling one or more mobility device components to perform the automated assessment; electronically gathering user performance data associated with the automated assessment and determining user performance metrics; and electronically controlling one or more of the mobility device components in accordance with the performance metrics. The automated assessment includes controlling mobility device components to perform a predetermined assessment activity related to performance of the mobility device and/or user. Automatic adjustments to the device components, including adjusting tension and resistance levels of the joint components, may then be made based the performance metrics.

A lower body supporting robot system includes a lower body mechanism being worn on a user's lower body, the lower body mechanism including a plurality of joints and links and a drive device, a distance calculator for measuring a first distance that is a vertical distance to an object located therebelow and a second distance that is a vertical distance to a ground surface, a memory for storing a limit distance that is a vertical distance between the distance calculator and the ground surface when the lower body mechanism is in a lowest sitting posture, and a controller for calculating a tolerance distance that is a difference between the second distance and the limit distance, comparing the first distance with the tolerance distance, and controlling the drive device so that the distance calculator moves by the first distance when the first distance is less than the tolerance distance.

Embodiments of a coupling system include a brace member, a plurality of coupling members, and a plurality of magnetic bodies that permit an individual to be attached or detached from a robotic device. The coupling system may serve as a detachable interface between an individual engaged to the robotic device.

There are provided a wearable robot and a method of controlling the same. The method includes obtaining a joint angle and a joint angular velocity of a plurality of joints, calculating a target joint angle of one joint among the plurality of joints using a joint angle and a joint angular velocity of at least one joint among the other joints, calculating assistive torque to be applied to the one joint using the calculated target joint angle, and outputting the calculated assistive torque to the one joint.

A wearable device for assisting a human body movement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a sensor including an inner electrode arranged at a center of an arbitrary circle, a plurality of outer electrodes arranged at regular intervals in a circumferential direction at positions spaced apart from the inner electrode in a radial direction so as to be arranged on a circumference of the circle, and a plurality of deformation elements disposed between the inner electrode and each of the outer electrodes and formed of a material whose resistance is changed by deformation; a controller configured to apply different control signals to an actuator according to a combination of different resistance values of the deformation elements of the sensor; and the actuator operating based on the control signals of the controller.

Robotic systems for supporting a human in stationary and/or mobile applications and related methods of operation are described.

A server of a gait data management system includes: an obtaining unit that obtains a first sensor value obtained when a walker walks with assistance from a walking assistance device; an accumulating unit that accumulates the first sensor value, and the walking assistance device includes: an actuator that drives a joint; a storage unit that stores a walk algorithm that is for determining a drive level of the actuator and is generated through statistical processing on a gait value indicating walking characteristics and calculated from the first sensor value accumulated in the accumulating unit; a sensor that obtains a second sensor value obtained when the walker walks with assistance from the walking assistance device; a control unit that determines the drive level of the actuator according to the second sensor value using the walk algorithm; and a transmitting unit that transmits the second sensor value to the server.

A load reduction device includes a determination unit configured to determine a repeated motion that is repeated by a user; and a torque control unit configured to control, by comparing a characteristic extracted on the basis of machine learning for repeated motions and a reference model, torque output by a drive mechanism to reduce a load on the user at a joint of a leg of the user.

A flexible exosuit includes rigid and flexible elements configured to couple forces to a body of a wearer. Further, the flexible exosuit includes flexible linear actuators and clutched compliance elements to apply and/or modulate forces and/or compliances between segments of the body of the wearer. The flexible exosuit further includes electronic controllers, power sources and sensors. The flexible exosuit can be configured to apply forces to the body of the wearer to enable a variety of applications. In some examples, the flexible exosuit can be configured to augment the physical strength or endurance of the wearer. In some examples, the flexible exosuit can be configured to train the wearer to perform certain physical tasks. In some examples, the flexible exosuit can be configured to record physical activities of the wearer.

Exosuit systems and methods according to various embodiments are described herein. The exosuit system can be a suit that is worn by a wearer on the outside of his or her body. It may be worn under the wearer's normal clothing, over their clothing, between layers of clothing, or may be the wearer's primary clothing itself. The exosuit may be assistive, as it physically assists the wearer in performing particular activities, or can provide other functionality such as communication to the wearer through physical expressions to the body, engagement of the environment, or capturing of information from the wearer.