Harb, Hussein (Uttop), Mauze, Benjamin (ENIT, Unversity of Toulouse), Rakotondrabe, Micky (University of Toulouse alliance)

Design Framework for Elbow Exoskeletons Based on Active Material, Stepper Actuators, and Compliant Joints: Principle and Discussions

Scheduled for presentation during the Invited Session "Design and control coupling in deformable mechatronic and robotic systems for physical interactions with humans" (WeAT3), Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 11:40−12:00, Room 107

Joint 10th IFAC Symposium on Mechatronic Systems and 14th Symposium on Robotics, July 15-18, 2025, Paris, France

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on July 16, 2025

Abstract

This extended abstract introduces a framework for designing elbow exoskeleton (EEx). It proposes to combine active materials, compliant mechanisms, and stepper mechanisms to enhance adaptability, energy efficiency, and user's comfort. EEx assists the wearer during forward, hold, and reverse motion by leveraging active materials for precise actuation, compliant structures for force transmission and amplification, and stepper mechanisms for motion control. The complementarity of all those elements enable to tackle current EEx's limits. Indeed, this proposed framework offers efficiency during the forward phase, stability during the hold phase, and energy storage or free motion during the reverse phase. Resulting designs provide light weight, energy-efficient, and versatile solutions for industrial and rehabilitation tasks. This statement will soon be validated by experiments in progress.