Biomechanical walking mechanisms underlying the metabolic reduction caused by an autonomous exoskeleton

This study shows that the ankle exoskeleton does not exclusively reduce positive mechanical power at the ankle joint, but also mitigates positive power at the knee and hip. Furthermore, the active ankle exoskeleton did not simply replace biological ankle function in walking, but rather augmented the total (biological + exoskeletal) ankle moment and power. This study underscores the need for comprehensive models of human-exoskeleton interaction and global optimization methods for the discovery of new control strategies that optimize the physiological impact of leg exoskeletons.