A Novel Exoskeleton Prototype Based on the Use of IMUs to Track and Mimic Motion

This thesis presents the development of a person-portable exoskeleton prototype which is designed to be controlled with Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). It utilizes Euler angles calculated by the IMUs to track the rotation of the user's forearm and then performs the same rotation, mimicking the user. Special care is taken with the prototype's control algorithm to ignore changes in Euler angles caused by non-forearm rotations, which can otherwise cause erroneous prototype movements. The prototype is successful in demonstrating this method of control but does require the user to follow some specific guidelines to work at maximum effectiveness. Future iterations of the prototype can be easily improved by replacing some of the commercially available materials with more specialized ad-hoc products.