A Resistive Lower-Limb Exoskeleton for Fitness - Enhancing Metabolic Expenditure

Humans naturally walk efficiently, minimizing lower-limb muscle activation, which limits metabolic stimulation. Existing exoskeletons mainly aim to harvest or recycle energy from metabolic expenditure, few focus on actively increasing it. This paper presents a novel resistive lower-limb exoskeleton designed to enhance metabolic expenditure for fitness. Gait recognition based on IMUs were established, enabling synchronization of resistance with the walking trajectory. The resistance was adjusted based on the user's gait phases to ensure proper phase throughout the walking cycle. Experimental results demonstrate a substantial rise, approximately 6-7% (p<0.0001) in respiratory quotient (RQ), confirming the exoskeleton's potential for effective metabolic stimulation while preserving natural gait dynamics.