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Exoskeleton Suits

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SPARTACUS 2.0 On the Way!

The 2019-2020 build team is excited to announce that we are creating a SPARTACUS 2.0!  It will incorporate better components than the original SPARTACUS.  Stay tuned! 

Our Original Exoskeleton Suit:  SPARTACUS

This was the first suit our team produced during the 2017-2018 school year named SPARTACUS.  This was also the suit used to build upon in 2018-2019.

2017-2018 SPARTACUS

Full Suit Assembly Image result for arrow Exoskeleton suit at ACE 2018

2018-2019 SPARTACUS

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Technical Highlights

Mechanical Design Highlights

  • Structural materials: aluminum, steel, brass, polypropylene plastic, 3D printed Vero/ABS
  • Accommodates a height range from 5’3’’ to 6’3’’
  • 3D printed parts, including ergonomic leg length adjustments, strap attachment, and custom knee spacers
  • All joints are mechanically limited to prevent hyperextension
  • 1 degrees of freedom at the ankle, 1 degree of freedom at the knee, 2 degrees of freedom at the hip
  • Custom fit foam pads for ergonomics
  • CNCed aluminum knee
  • Crutch inspired double bar leg support for structure and mounting plane 

    

Electrical Design Highlights

  • System is powered by a 14.8V 5000mAh Li-Po battery
  • Employs the use of 2 Force Sensitive Resistors (FSRs), 2 Electromyography (EMG) sensors for detecting muscle movement inputs, and 4 pressure gauges for pneumatic system feedback
  • The central processing unit is comprised of a mini PC (ZOTAC ZBOX PI-223, 1.44GHz) which is connected via USB to a microcontroller (Arduino Micro, 16MHz) for low level analog data capture.
  • Main software developed in C++, running over a Linux 64-bit architecture (Debian), with sensor measurement unit conversion and closed-loop controllers (PID)

Actuation Highlights

  • Implements the use of Soft Robotics 
  • Manual and customized fabrication of Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs)
  • Lightweight, compliant, and inexpensive materials
  • 6” long, 1/2” diameter polyester sleeve and silicone rubber tubing, worm-drive clamps and customized 3Dprinted fittings
  • Single actuator weight/pressure test: 100 lbs @60psi • 2 miniature diaphragm pumps (Parker BTC-IIS Series)
  • 12VDC Dual Head (max 50psi per head)
  • Vast application in many robotics subfields such as bioinspired robotics, medical robotics, industrial manipulation, ultimately bridging the gap between human and machine interface