Authors:
(1) Mohammad Shushtari, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo (smshushtari@uwaterloo.ca);
(2) Julia Foellmer, Mechanics and Ocean Engineering Department, Hamburg University of Technology (julia.foellmer@tuhh.de);
(3) Sanjay Krishna Gouda, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (KITE), University Health Network (arash.arami@uwaterloo.ca). Table of Links Abstract and 1 Introduction 2 Results 2.1 Initial Processed Data for a Representative Participant 2.2 Overall Performance Analysis 2.3 Interaction Portrait Analysis 2.4 Individual Adaptation Strategy 3 Discussion 3.1 Human Adaptation 3.2 Importance of IP Analysis 4 Conclusion 5 Methods 5.1 Feedforward Control Strategies 5.2 Experimental Setup 5.3 Experimental Protocol 5.4 Data Analysis Declarations Appendix A Complementary Example Data Appendix B Comparison with Natural Walking References 4 Conclusion We proposed a new metric for the analysis of human-exoskeleton interaction (Interaction Portrait) and employed it in investigating the effect of three feedforward controllers in enhancing human-exoskeleton interaction during assisted treadmill walking at different speeds. Through interaction portrait analysis, we found that the HTC controller demonstrated a more suitable performance for power augmentation along with reducing muscle activation and metabolic cost. On the other hand, the AMTC controller, also proposed in this study, proved to be more suitable for rehabilitation applications, as it promoted user reliance on their own muscular capacity by making the exoskeleton transparent. Furthermore, we observed that the human adaptation pattern facing each of the HTC and AMTC controllers was influenced by the participants’ weight. Individuals with lower weight tended to take control with the AMTC controller, while heavier participants were more inclined to relinquish control when interacting with the HTC-controlled exoskeleton. IP analysis has been only performed to evaluate the ablebodied individuals’ interaction with exoskeletons. As the next step of this research, we plan to analyze the interaction portrait of motor-impaired individuals with exoskeletons equipped with different assist as needed controllers to provide a meaningful and objective comparison of these controllers. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED license. Authors: (1) Mohammad Shushtari, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo (smshushtari@uwaterloo.ca); (2) Julia Foellmer, Mechanics and Ocean Engineering Department, Hamburg University of Technology (julia.foellmer@tuhh.de); (3) Sanjay Krishna Gouda, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (KITE), University Health Network (arash.arami@uwaterloo.ca). Authors: Authors: (1) Mohammad Shushtari, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo (smshushtari@uwaterloo.ca); (2) Julia Foellmer, Mechanics and Ocean Engineering Department, Hamburg University of Technology (julia.foellmer@tuhh.de); (3) Sanjay Krishna Gouda, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (KITE), University Health Network (arash.arami@uwaterloo.ca). Table of Links Abstract and 1 Introduction Abstract and 1 Introduction 2 Results 2.1 Initial Processed Data for a Representative Participant 2.1 Initial Processed Data for a Representative Participant 2.2 Overall Performance Analysis 2.2 Overall Performance Analysis 2.3 Interaction Portrait Analysis 2.3 Interaction Portrait Analysis 2.4 Individual Adaptation Strategy 2.4 Individual Adaptation Strategy 3 Discussion 3.1 Human Adaptation 3.1 Human Adaptation 3.2 Importance of IP Analysis 3.2 Importance of IP Analysis 4 Conclusion 4 Conclusion 5 Methods 5.1 Feedforward Control Strategies 5.1 Feedforward Control Strategies 5.2 Experimental Setup 5.2 Experimental Setup 5.3 Experimental Protocol 5.3 Experimental Protocol 5.4 Data Analysis 5.4 Data Analysis Declarations Declarations Appendix A Complementary Example Data Appendix A Complementary Example Data Appendix B Comparison with Natural Walking Appendix B Comparison with Natural Walking References References 4 Conclusion We proposed a new metric for the analysis of human-exoskeleton interaction (Interaction Portrait) and employed it in investigating the effect of three feedforward controllers in enhancing human-exoskeleton interaction during assisted treadmill walking at different speeds. Through interaction portrait analysis, we found that the HTC controller demonstrated a more suitable performance for power augmentation along with reducing muscle activation and metabolic cost. On the other hand, the AMTC controller, also proposed in this study, proved to be more suitable for rehabilitation applications, as it promoted user reliance on their own muscular capacity by making the exoskeleton transparent. Furthermore, we observed that the human adaptation pattern facing each of the HTC and AMTC controllers was influenced by the participants’ weight. Individuals with lower weight tended to take control with the AMTC controller, while heavier participants were more inclined to relinquish control when interacting with the HTC-controlled exoskeleton. IP analysis has been only performed to evaluate the ablebodied individuals’ interaction with exoskeletons. As the next step of this research, we plan to analyze the interaction portrait of motor-impaired individuals with exoskeletons equipped with different assist as needed controllers to provide a meaningful and objective comparison of these controllers. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED license. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED license. available on arxiv

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