User-centered evaluation of the Wearable Walker lower limb exoskeleton, preliminary assessment based on the Experience protocol
Using lower-limbs exoskeletons provides potential advantages in terms of productivity and safety associated with reduced stress. However, complex issues in human-robot interaction are still open, such as the physiological effects of exoskeletons and the impact on the user's subjective experience. In this work, an innovative exoskeleton, the Wearable Walker, is assessed using the EXPERIENCE benchmarking protocol from the EUROBENCH project. The Wearable Walker is a lower-limb exoskeleton that enhances human abilities, such as carrying loads. The device uses a unique control approach called Blend Control that provides smooth assistance torques. It operates two models simultaneously, one in the case in which the left foot is grounded and another for the grounded right foot. These models generate assistive torques combined to provide continuous and smooth overall assistance, preventing any abrupt changes in torque due to model switching. The EXPERIENCE protocol consists of walking on flat ground while gathering physiological signals such as heart rate, its variability, respiration rate, and galvanic skin response and completing a questionnaire. The test was performed with five healthy subjects. The scope of the present study is twofold: to evaluate the specific exoskeleton and its current control system to gain insight into possible improvements and to present a case study for a formal and replicable benchmarking of wearable robots.