A Novel Method and Two Exoskeletons for Whole-arm Gravity Compensation

This thesis is centered upon the published A Novel Method and Exoskeletons for Whole-arm Gravity Compensation (Turner, Hull 2020), and includes a novel concept for supporting the weight of a person's arm or robotic linkage. The design is capable of supporting weights held near the hand, and provides support regardless of position. This support is provided with a pantograph. The upper-arm and forearm bars are mirrored by smaller copies. Force applied to a pull point on the scaled copy of the arm is flipped and applied at a support point on the forearm or to a tool near the hand.

Two exoskeletons, using different linkages make use of the pantograph design. These include the Panto-Arm Exo, which uses it's slim, reduced size to comfortably assist users in lifting their arm, and the Panto-Tool Exo which is designed for a support point that coincides with a mass representing a heavy tool. The differing topologies and purposes of these two devices resulted in different qualities regarding their ability to lift weight. The Panto-Arm Exo was specifically used in human subject testing, in which fourteen users wore electromyography electrodes and performed simple arm movements and holding tasks. While the Panto-Arm Exo did not undergo stringent design improvements or user-specific optimization, the device was shown to reduce muscle use in the measured upper-arm muscles for certain arm positions.