Use of Pneumatic Artificial Muscles in a Passive Upper Body Exoskeleton

This paper presents a preliminary study on a novel upper body exoskeleton conceived for human effort reduction in uncomfortable operations. The exoskeleton is constituted by a light wearable structure energized by two McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles, which could be used in passive (such as springs) or active mode (such as actuators). In this work, the modelling and the design of the exoskeleton is presented. The performance of the exoskeleton is evaluated considering two commercial McKibben muscles used in passive mode. The results underline that the exoskeleton can be adapted to compensate the weight of the upper limbs and a load in the hands of an operator under defined working conditions.