A Novel Performance Evaluation and Optimal Design Method for Lower Limb Exoskeleton

In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the influence of lower limb exoskeleton (LEE) on human gait characteristics, a human-machine system simulation method combining gait experimentation with AnyBody software simulation was employed. The kinematic parameters and biomechanical parameters of the subjects were collected through the gait experiment. The AnyBody software was employed to construct the human body model and the human-machine system model. A comparative analysis was conducted on the kinematics parameters and biomechanical parameters of the two models. The maximum extension moment of the hip joint was reduced by 0.51 Nm/kg when walking with the LEE. It is evident that the LEE exerts a compensatory effect on the hip joint. The LEE exerts the greatest influence on the muscle strength of the medial gastrocnemius. The muscle with the greatest muscle activation in the lower extremity is the rectus femoris (0.76), which indicates that the LEE is the most likely to cause fatigue or injury to the rectus femoris. The gait characteristics observed during walking with the LEE were consistent with those of a normal gait, indicating that the design of the LEE is reasonable.