Design of a Quasi-Direct Drive Actuator with Embedded Pulley for a Compact, Lightweight, and High-Bandwidth Exosuit

Although exosuits have several advantages compared to exoskeleton type of wearable robots, they have limitations, such as bulkiness and low control performance. This study addresses the design and evaluation of a compact, lightweight, and highly responsive actuator to be used for exosuits, based on the Quasi-Direct Drive (QDD) actuation. The design requirements of the actuator were set based on the actuation system used in the state-of-the-art exosuit from Harvard University (HE) so that it could be an improvement compared to HE. Several design concepts were comparatively evaluated to select the optimal design, and a design for the pulley embedded QDD (PEQDD) actuator was selected. The PEQDD was fabricated using mechanical components selected based on the design constraints or designed through mechanical analysis. Using a dynamometer, the efficiency map of the PEQDD was drawn. The control bandwidth comparison test with the motor originally used for HE showed improved bandwidth from 6.25 Hz to 20 Hz. Preliminary testing was done in walking and running conditions using an exosuit utilizing PEQDD. The test results showed that the actuator performance met all the design requirements.