Interface With Body (Final Implementation)

For the final implementation of the exoskeleton-body interface, the cuffs from the first implementation were reused since they worked well. The foam padding, however, was replaced with a thicker foam padding to provide more comfort. To connect the user's wrist to the hand linkage, a velcro strap was fixed on the hand linkage to restrict the user's hand movement to the exoskeleton (See Figure 1). Since the strap is flexible, the user is still able to grasp a basketball and move along with the exoskeleton. 

Figure 1. Side view of exoskeleton and exoskeleton-body interface.

A backboard was utilized in this final prototype to provide a fixed ground that would allow the mounting of a motor, controller and batteries (See Figure 2). When first testing the exoskeleton, the mechanism's shoulder joint did not line up with the user's shoulder joint. This caused the user discomfort and restricted the full motion of the exoskeleton. To fix this problem, extended wooden blocks were placed near the top middle of the backboard to raise the shoulder joint and align it with the user's joint (See Figure 1). The user was then able to move more comfortably with the exoskeleton with all the weight placed on the user's shoulders. Shoulder and waist straps were used to attach the user onto the backboard. No weight was distributed on the straps. As a result, the exoskeleton was firmly fixed on the user's body, providing a fixed placement for the motor to move the exoskeleton.

Figure 2. Back view of backboard.

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