Improvement of balancing accuracy of robotic systems: Application to leg orthosis for rehabilitation devices (Q2426755)

For many schemes of gravity balancing, the introduction of weightless springs reduces the computational complexity, but is also a source of errors. Here the authors show how a relationship between the stiffness coefficient of the spring and its mass can be introduced into the balancing equation, the elastic force can be determined, and the mass of the spring can be taken into account. For zero-length springs, the stiffness coefficient is determined from a quadratic equation, for non-zero length springs from a cubic equation. In this way an exact balancing of gravitational forces can be achieved. Several numerical examples are presented, showing the improvements of the balancing accuracy of robotic systems when the non-zero mass of spring(s) is included in the calculation. A balancing scheme for a robotic rehabilitation device is discussed, which can support the weight of the leg during walking. The development of a prototype and an experimental verification are announced.