Exoskeletons

Exoskeletons can be used in rehabilitation to help people with spinal cord injuries stand up and retrain their mobility skills. For people who work in demanding environments such as construction and manufacturing, exoskeletons, also known as exosuit or robotic suit, can eliminate work injuries or multiply the strength of the wearer.

Exoskeletons are pieces of equipment that some people with varying levels of paralysis wear to assist them in movement.

Built using a series of motors and sensors which move the wearer’s legs, these impressive exoskeletons are helpful as a rehabilitation tool for people with lower extremity weakness, be it from physical injury, stroke or disease. There are some size requirements for the user, such as height and weight, as well as requirements for flexibility such as the ability to manage some forearm control to operate these devices.

Typical encoders used in some of these “walking” exoskeletons are absolute rotary encoders which provide motion and speed feedback in the motors moving the knee and elbow joints within the exoskeleton. Using the encoders, the exoskeleton system can position these joints extremely accurately and with consistent repeatability. These aspects are crucial to the machines as they are interfaced directly to a person and need this level of quality in order to ensure the safety of the user.