Non-binding lower extremity exoskeleton (NextExo) for load-bearing

In this paper, we present a novel non-binding lower extremity exoskeleton (NextExo) for bearing load, where there is no binding point between the NextExo and human. With the innovative structure, the NextExo is able to stand in balance without attaching human, and bear the weights of its own and load completely. This also avoids the damage to operator caused by long-time binding. The NextExo has eight degrees of freedom, all of which are active joints powered by hydraulic actuators. It shadows human motion by one-to-one joints mapping. The man is as the core in the system to keep the NextExo in balance. Meanwhile, the constraint based on Zero Moment Point theory is adopted. The design concept, hardware structure, control scheme and preliminary experiments of NextExo are discussed.