Embedded system implementation for real-time control of ankle foot orthosis

Abstract

Exoskeletons are widely used to restore and augment human movements, and the global smart exoskeleton market has been rapidly growing because of the need for efficient rehabilitative and assistive purposes. One of the most demanded and used exoskeletons is ankle-foot orthosis (AFO), which is used to control and assist the po sition and motion of the ankle. In this thesis, an embedded system implementation for real-time control of an AFO is proposed. The compactness and portability of a device are greatly appreciated in the healthcare field. Therefore, the controller is de signed to be a compact and portable system. The components of the embedded system are selected according to the design requirements, and the implementation is realized to achieve the maximum performance possible by using various hardware accelerators and peripherals. Furthermore, dual AFO support is developed as an innovative feature. Finally, experimental tests are conducted to validate and evaluate the proposed sys tem. Results show that the proposed system operates accurately, and the performance, mobility, and capability of the overall system are improved.