Development of a walking support robot with velocity-based mechanical safety devices

Safety is one of the most important issues in walking support robots. This paper presents a walking support robot equipped with velocity-based mechanical safety devices. The safety devices consist of only mechanical components without actuators, controllers, or batteries. The safety device is attached to each drive-shaft of the robot. If the safety device detects an unexpected angular velocity of the drive-shaft, the safety device can switch off all motors of the robot and lock the drive-shaft. The safety devices can work even if the robot´s controller does not work. Firstly, we describe the characteristics of the safety device. Secondly, we explain the walking support robot and the structure and mechanism of the safety device. Thirdly, we show the walking support robot which we developed. Finally, we experimentally verify the effectiveness of the safety device.