Design Considerations of Anthropomorphic Exoskeleton

The review examines the design considerations and challenges of anthropomorphic exoskeletons. There is an increasing demand for the design of exoskeletons for various purposes including rehabilitation training, human performance augmentation. There are several factors to be considered before actually manufacturing an orthotic device and it depends highly on the application of the device and requirement. This paper contributes to a comparative study of different methods of actuation, the effectiveness of the light-weight design, methods of force production, human-machine interface, and how application influences a design. It can be observed that exoskeletons are recently evolved to a stage of exosuits to provide comfort to the user, but there are situations where user comfort is sacrificed for other advantages. This study will help in better understanding the various design challenges and consideration to the design of a new exoskeleton. Five different designs are compared in this paper to better understand the validity of each design consideration.