Development and Evaluation of a Hybrid Walking Rehabilitation Robot, DDgo Pro

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a newly developed end-effector type rehabilitation robot named DDgo Pro. In order to induce normal walking pattern, a five-link mechanism was designed to follow normal walking trajectory. In order to implement the rehabilitation training feature, the core technologies of the drive unit consisting of freewheel and BLDC motor, the construction of the robot control system, and the algorithms of the three training modes in DDgo Pro were addressed in detail. Among the three training modes, Passive Mode makes the robot to fully guide normal walking pattern, and to help patients gain muscle strength in their lower body. In Active Assisted Mode, patients who have learned Passive Mode are able to perform active rehabilitation training for a long time while receiving muscle assistance from the robot in proportion to their walking intentions. Active mode was designed for patients to perform rehabilitation training for themselves with minimal help from the robot. In order to test muscle assisted performance of the newly developed rehabilitation robot, muscle activity in each training mode was measured using Electromyography for healthy people. In addition, gait dynamics was analyzed to check whether DDgo Pro help stroke patients correct their walking patterns.