Body Extender

Body Extender: Exoskeleton to improve the load capabilities of the operator

(2007 / 2010)

Programme: Italian Ministry of Defence – National Research Project (PRN 266)
Coordinator: Scuola Superiore S. Anna di Pisa (Lab. PERCRO)
Sub-contractor: Signo Motus

Abstract

The Body Extender is an anthropomorphic robotic device that can be worn by the operator and assist, in unstructured environment, the operator movement of the upper and lower limbs during the handling of heavy loads, 'lighten' through a real-time control system (EHPA - exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation).

Possible applications are:

Material handling in confined spaces and/or unstructured environment;
Civil Protection activities (e.g.: rescue victims in the event of natural disasters).

Signo Motus has been involved in the design and manufacture of the Body Extender robotic legs, whose main characteristics are listed below:

Kinematics: 12 degrees of freedom (6 degrees of freedom for each leg);
Robotic joints: modules implemented by transverse cables frameless torque motor;
Sensors: sensor power-couple consisting of 6-component load cells connected in parallel between two flanges of load (Stewart platform);
Control: central processing unit + local units to control actuators and sensors data acquisition.