Multibody Model of a Novel Wheeled Exoskeleton Machine

In this work we discuss about the ideation and simulation of a lower body exoskeleton which will be used to help people with complete paralysis of lower body. Many diseases like ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Hemiplegia or paraplegia do not make possible to maintain the normal functionality of the legs and people became unable to walk. Nowadays, many exoskeletons model were made to help patients to restore lost functionalities, but it is a complex task. Human body is formed by hundreds of muscle, bones, and ligament; height and weight is very different from person to person, so as the needs of every patient. When they wear an exoskeleton, comfort is a very important aspect, so our goal is to create a machine which can assure the right motion with the right level of security and without make user tired. We are interested in creating an exoskeleton, which is capable of walking at different speed on the ground, in absence of a treadmill. Exoskeleton must be able to carry their own weight and patient one, it has to be ergonomics and not too heavy. We started studying the average human gait and its kinematics and with the first scheme of the exoskeleton. After the writing the analytical model of the entire system, using Newton Euler equations, next step is to make a Model in Simulation Software. In particular, we will use Simescape Multibody, a three dimensional simulation environment. We will test the model under different conditions. We can obtain the values of forces and torques needed to actuate the system and detect all the critical issues. After that, we will proceed to optimize the system and obtain useful information for the realization of the prototype.