A new haptic control strategy for CDPR-based lower-limb rehabilitation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17979/ja-cea.2026.47.13734Keywords:
Human centered automation, Mechatronics for robotic systems, Medical and rehabilitation robotics, Human-robot interaction, Robot perception and sensingAbstract
This work presents a haptic control strategy for a cable-driven parallel robot designed to assist lower-limb rehabilitation. The proposed approach uses a harness as an input interface, estimating locomotor intention from the forces measured by four load cells attached to the corresponding suspension straps, together with body orientation obtained from an absolute encoder. Based on this information, the controller generates velocity commands in the horizontal plane and adjusts the vertical position of the end-effector, from which the harness is suspended, to regulate partial body-weight support. The technical validation is carried out with healthy participants during a lemniscate trajectory, including straight segments, curved sections, and changes of direction. The results show that the system provides continuous horizontal assistance based on user-harness interaction and combines it with vertical control of the supported load.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Enrique Riveiro, Diego Silva-Muñiz, Uxía Pérez-García, Julio Garrido
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