Can humans perceive the metabolic benefit provided by augmentative exoskeletons?

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation

Gray Cortright Thomas¹  Elliott J. Rouse²  Roberto Leo Medrano² 

[1] Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, USA;Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, USA;Robotics Institute, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, USA;Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, USA;Robotics Institute, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, USA;

关键词: Exoskeleton;    Metabolic rate;    Perception;    Psychophysics;    Biomechanics;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12984-022-01002-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe purpose of augmentative exoskeletons is to help people exceed the limitations of their human bodies, but this cannot be realized unless people choose to use these exciting technologies. Although human walking efficiency has been highly optimized over generations, exoskeletons have been able to consistently improve this efficiency by 10–15%. However, despite these measurable improvements, exoskeletons today remain confined to the laboratory. To achieve widespread adoption, exoskeletons must not only exceed the efficiency of human walking, but also provide a perceivable benefit to their wearers.MethodsIn this study, we quantify the perceptual threshold of the metabolic efficiency benefit provided during exoskeleton-assisted locomotion. Ten participants wore bilateral ankle exoskeletons during continuous walking. The assistance provided by the exoskeletons was varied in 2min intervals while participants provided feedback on their metabolic rate. These data were aggregated and used to estimate the perceptual threshold.ResultsParticipants were able to detect a change in their metabolic rate of 22.7% (SD: 17.0%) with 75% accuracy. This indicates that in the short term and on average, wearers cannot yet reliably perceive the metabolic benefits of today’s augmentative exoskeletons.ConclusionsIf wearers cannot perceive the benefits provided by these technologies, it will negatively affect their impact, including long-term adoption and product viability. Future exoskeleton researchers and designers can use these methods and results to inform the development of exoskeletons that reach their potential.

【 授权许可】

CC BY