Exoskeleton - wearable devices. Literature review

Abstract

Exoskeletons are companion devices that help a person to perform various daily activities. These can range from work to medical rehabilitation. The type of activity performed depend on the construction and control of the exoskeleton, so that some devices are for only one arm, others for both, can be driven by motors directly or through cables. Exoskeletons can be driven based on information received from position, force, speed sensors or by using EMG, EEG signals. Exoskeleton wearable devices began to appear around 1980, as an aid in physical work, in the handling of various heavy objects. Over time, they also covered the preventive-rehabilitation medical side, in order to reduce muscle pain or to restore specific movements, attenuated or even missing following accidents or diseases of the muscles. The paper presents an overview of the exoskeletons developed for the human arm.

Keywords

• bio-inspired
• assistive devices
• wearable robots
• workload