Kinematic analysis of double pendulum for exoskeleton walking aid

The exoskeleton concept, initially developed to assist soldiers in carrying heavy loads, has also been explored medical applications in patients with mobility impairments. In this study, a two-degree-of-freedom model is proposed, focusing on the hip and knee joints. The Lagrange formulation is employed to determine the angles at these joints. These two joints play a big role in designing the robot as a new link that connects both thigh and shank for the new exoskeleton will be introduced and new equation utilizing trigonometric functions is introduced to quantify the behavior of the new link. The results obtained from the Lagrange formulation and the trigonometric approach are compared to assess the practicality of the new link in real- life scenarios. MATLAB/Simulink simulations are conducted to evaluate the response of both approaches. Additionally, the exoskeleton design is developed using the SOLIDWORKS program, with certain components fabricated through 3D printing. Experimental testing of the exoskeleton is performed, utilizing a potentiometer connected to an Arduino to measure the knee angle. 'The obtained data is compared with the results obtained from the trigonometric function, revealing similar patterns between the simulated and experimental data. These findings indicate that the exoskeleton design is viable for practical implementation.