Soft actuated foot exoskeleton for ankle rehabilitation

Technological advancement has made rehabilitation robotics possible. Robots can now help patients to proceed with their physiotherapy treatment with less assistance from physiotherapists. Soft robots are made from material similar to living organisms to improve safety between human and robot interaction. A soft robotic foot exoskeleton using pneumatic fiber braided bending-type actuator was developed in this study. Focusing on dorsiflexion ankle stretching movement, several actuator positioning was performed to gain the maximum ankle angle. MPU6050 sensor was used to detect the ankle dorsiflexion angle. Without any load, the bending-type actuator was able to bend and meet end-to-end of the tip. ITV0031-2ML valve was used as the connecter between air pressure supply and electronic circuit. Several experimental setups have been used in this study to obtain the maximum ankle dorsiflexion angle. The average maximum dorsiflexion angle from healthy volunteers was 8-degree, and Phase II experimental setup was able to drive a maximum of 6-degree dorsiflexion angle.