Design and Control of Lightweight Supernumerary Robotic Limbs for Sitting/Standing Assistance

We present a new, lightweight prototype of the Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRL), a wearable robot that augments its user by providing two extra robotic legs. We then showcase the robot’s assistive capabilities by developing and implementing a control strategy that supports the user during sitting and standing motions. The reduced mass and volume of the robot are enabled by innovative design choices including advanced materials, efficient joint structure, and high-performance pneumatic actuation. The assistive control strategy is tailored to each individual based on their motion preferences, and allows the SRL to support users without getting in the way of their movements. The proposed assistive strategy is implemented and validated in experiments with the physical SRL prototype.