Development and implementation of a categorization model for the exoskeletons based on their design characteristics and practical projects

Abstract

The exoskeletons are the future of the humankind. The humankind is in a constant pursuit of improvement for themselves, both physically and mentally. The human body has physical constraints in which no physical training can surpass, but our ingenious and imagination are making this possible. Several decades ago the first developments started, and nowadays, these developments, plus the improvements, are imperative for the humans in the following decades. The exoskeletons can assist or rehabilitate a person, leading this personalized technology to depend on the needs and abilities that each user has. The exoskeletons have a wide spectrum of opportunities in their design, due to the variety of situations in which a person needs an augmentation of their physical performance, thus the diversity of projects. An exoskeleton for sarcopenia was made for assisting the elderly who require help to perform their daily activities, and tested with electromyography (EMG) to analyze its functionality. On the other hand, an exoskeleton made for rehabilitation, machining the exoskeleton gives us a testing platform for other kinds of projects. Through the development of different exoskeletons and projects related to them, an opportunity area was found to formalize the exoskeletons’ topic, creating a model for the categorization of all the exoskeletons using their design characteristics and a further analysis for recommendations in their design. Besides, in this work are proposed tools, based on the design characteristics of exoskeletons, for the optimization of the exoskeleton design process.