At CMU, I took 16879 Medical Robotics and was exposed to current robotic applications in medical industries, such as exoskeleton, surgical robots, prosthesis and so on. I performed an academic literature review of some papers and learned more about some prior arts and cutting-edge technologies in the field of medical robotics. In the final project, we were divided into teams of four to design an orthotic, in which we considered the ergonomics of foot locomotion and the mechatronic design. With the usage of Arduino, stepper motors and sensors, we designed and integrated our mechatronic orthotic prototype. Our prototype could detect and identify the user's current phase of foot locomotion, and hence exert torque accordingly in order to assist in labor saving and muscle gaining.

Mechatronics and Control Design Diagram

Ergonomic Mechanism of Human Locomotion

Ergonomic Mechanism of The Orthotic