Human Augmentation - Systematic Evaluation for Lower Extremity Motor Adaptations to Joint Actuation

NSRDEC is interested in developing a systematic understanding of the assistive joint actuation (i.e. power or torque) necessary to augment physical performance (i.e., reduce the metabolic cost of load carriage while walking and running). Specifically, this work seeks to determine which joint(s) of the lower extremity (ankle, knee, hip) need to be actuated to produce a measurable metabolic benefit, thereby determining (a) the necessary amount of actuation for each joint, (b) the appropriate timing of the actuation for each joint, and (c) how the magnitude and timing of actuation change to produce a measurable metabolic benefit during load carriage activities. To test these objectives, NSRDEC is seeking development and validation of a Multi-Joint Actuation Platform that can incrementally apply a wide range of torques and impedances to a user’s ankle, knee and hip, independently and in combination, while walking/running on a treadmill. Such a platform will provide the capability to systematically manipulate both the amount and timing of joint (i.e., hip, knee and ankle) actuation across a variety of conditions (e.g., walking and running at various grades with and without load) in a controlled laboratory environment, leading to the optimization of sensing and control paradigms necessary to advance the state of the art in human augmentation.