Industrial Upper Limb Exoskeleton

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to develop an arm exoskeleton for workers at factories to help manipulate objects easily from one place to another. The arm is controlled by the worker using a joystick, as he moves the stick the internal resistance in the stick for up and down directions is connected to the arm exoskeleton, whereas the resistance directions for left and right is connected to the shoulder exoskeleton. The microcontroller receives any change in this resistance, and then translates it to the motor via the motor driver. It activates the motors to move the arm to the required position. The motor is attached to a power screw which transmits the torque of the motor to the elbow or shoulder joint. The function of the power screw is to decrease the rotational speed transmitted to the joint allowing the user to control the angle of the joint. The power screw also adds the privilege of locking the angle while holding heavy items. Limit switches have been added to prevent the worker from moving the exoskeleton out of bounds and to prevent the workers from injuring themselves.