Biomechanical models in the lower-limb exoskeletons development: a review

Lower limb exoskeletons serve multiple purposes, like supporting and augmenting movement. Biomechanical models are practical tools to understand human movement, and motor control. This paper provides an overview of these models and a comprehensive review of the current applications of them in assistive device development. It also critically analyzes the existing literature to identify research gaps and suggest future directions. Biomechanical models can be broadly classified as conceptual and detailed models and can be used for the design, control, and assessment of exoskeletons. Also, these models can estimate unmeasurable or hard-to-measure variables, which is also useful within the aforementioned applications. We identified the validation of simulation studies and the enhancement of the accuracy and fidelity of biomechanical models as key future research areas for advancing the development of assistive devices. Additionally, we suggest using exoskeletons as a tool to validate and refine these models. We also emphasize the exploration of model-based design and control approaches for exoskeletons targeting pathological gait, and utilizing biomechanical models for diverse design objectives of exoskeletons. In addition, increasing the availability of open source resources accelerates the advancement of the exoskeleton and biomechanical models. Although biomechanical models are widely applied to improve movement assistance and rehabilitation, their full potential in developing human-compatible exoskeletons remains underexplored and requires further investigation. This review aims to reveal existing needs and cranks new perspectives for developing more effective exoskeletons based on biomechanical models.