Development and Control of an Upper-Limb Exoskeleton CASIA-EXO for Motor Learning in Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

Dear Editor, This letter investigates the system development of a multi-joint rehabilitation exoskeleton, and highlights the subject-adaptive control factors for efficient motor learning. In order to enable the natural mobility of the human upper extremity, we design the shoulder mechanism by arranging three rotational joints with acute angles, and adopt a serial chain structure for the fully constructed system. After the kinematics and dynamics of CASIA-EXO are modelled, the patient-in-the-loop control strategy is proposed for rehabilitation training, consisting of the intention-based trajectory planning and performance-based intervention adaptation. Finally, we conduct experiments to validate the efficacy of the control system, and further demonstrate the potential of CASIA-EXO in neurorehabilitation.