Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE
International Conference on Robotics 8 Automation
Seoul, Korea. May 21-26, 2001
Development of an Above Knee Prosthesis using MR Damper
and Leg Simulator
Jung-Hoon Kim and Jun-Ho Oh
Machine Control Laboratory, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST
373-1, Kusong-dong, Yusong-gu, Taejon, 305-701, Republic of Korea
E-mail: maysmile@ohzlab.kaist.ac.kr , junhoh@ohzlab .kaist.ac.kr
Abstract
Because conventional above-knee prostheses are passive
tjpe device with constant mechanical properties, knee
joint motions are not similar to that of normal persons.
On the other hand, active type prostheses can improve
swing phase gait but these are expensive, heavy und
consume large energy. So the semi-active type prostheses
are presented. We propose to use the rotary MR damper:
The torque dissipation in the knee joint can be controlled
by the magneticjeld induced by solenoid. The 3 DOF leg
simulator has been also developed to generate various hip
motions and analyze the results of walking motions. This
simulator is use$d in designing suitable prosthesis for the
handicapped. Tracking control of knee joint angle was
performed with this leg simulator. The experiment shows
that the proposed prosthesis system has good
performance in swing phase. As a controller; we applied
the repetitive controller in conjunction with a computed
control law and P D control law. This algorithm reduced
RMS tracking error as the repetitions of the tracking.
MoreoveK the proposed prosthesis system is adaptable to
walking speed.
1 Introduction
The gait of human is periodic repetitions of the stance
phase in which a foot is on the ground and the swing
phase in which the lower lamb moves after toe-off. The
functional requirements of above-knee(AK) prostheses
are providing knee locking during stance phase and
damping during the swing phase. Many kinds of
conventional AK prostheses are based on the passive type
mechanism with constant mechanical properties such as
friction, spring and damping coefficients. However, these
designs are unable to realize the natural gait due to the
lack of active knee joint control. On the other hand, active
type prosthesis such as hydraulic actuator, can produce
the natural gait similar to that of normal persons easily,
0-7803-6475-9/01/$10.000 2001 IEEE 3686
but it is expensive, heavy and consumes large energy.[l]
Therefore, the semi-active type prostheses have been
developed because they have the best features of passive
and active system. In 1983, A.Bar et al. applied on-off
control using four solenoid valves and realized the 16
damping level. They divided the walking cycle into ten
stages and gave the appropriate damping level at each
stage. However, this device could not give smooth
transitions between damping level. [2]
The Magnetoreological fluid(MR fluid) is the material
that reversibly changes from a linear viscous fluid to a
semisolid with a controllable yield strength when exposed
to a magnetic field. The rotary MR damper is filled with
this material and the torque dissipation is controlled by
applying current to the solenoid. It is possible to realize
more natural gait than that of passive mechanism by
controlling knee joint using MR damper
In this study, MR damper satisfying the specification of
AK prosthesis is developed and the controller with
microprocessor is designed. The prosthesis is assembled
into the 3 DOF leg simulator and tracking control of knee
joint angle for normal gait is performed. The leg simulator
is very useful tool in the design of suitable prosthesis for
the handicapped and in the analysis of walking motion.
Finally, the gait period is estimated with the gyro sensor
that is attached into the thigh and the tracking control is
performed for the reference knee angle that is generated
based on the gait period.
2 The Above Knee prosthesis system
Composed of Damper
2.1 System Modeling
The amputee’s swing leg is modeled as a two-link rigid
body chain representing the thigh and the shank in sagittal
plane motion. The knee is modeled as a hinge joint with
the damper in figure 1. The ankle and the center of mass
are assumed to be fixed. The subscript 1,2 denotes thigh
and shank . tn, are mass , U , are distance from the mass
center, I , are moment o f inertia in the mass center, I , is the
length of thigh, x,, is horizontal movement of hip, and y h is
vertical movement of hip. The equations of motion can be
written as
If it is assumed that the hip torque and the thigh angle
are accord with normal person' s, all we has to consider in
controlling the knee angle is 2nd equation o f (1). In our
experiment, leg simulator generates hip torque and thigh
angle of normal person. So, the equation of motion to be

(I)
Because we assumed that the knee is only composed of
the damper, ui is the torque acting on the damper.
where 2.2 Damper Model
The relation between angular velocity and dissipation
torque is represented as
: inertial matrix
T = uL = CW+ {T, + T(B)}sign(w) (3)
where c is the damping coefficient when no field and it
is came from pressure drop in the duct of the damper.
T ( B ) is the variable torque which can be controlled by
magnetic field. This model is shown in figure 2. The
operating point moves parallel to the coefficient when
+ m,l,)(cosq,x, + sinqljja+ sinq,g)
(nz,ul
nz,a,(cosq,i, +sinq,jj,l +sinq2g) 1 constant magnetic field is applied.

: Gravitational torque and hip acceleration terms

1
I I ,

=kl : vector of the thigh and shank angles

21 11
= [''[I
LUL-
: input vector of the hip and knee torques

Figure 2. MR damper Model

2.3 Basic Control Law

In order to track the desired knee angle, PD feedback
control and computed torque method are introduced. The
computed torque terms cancel the nonlinear terms in the
dynamic model and linearize the knee joint dynamic
system.
The control signal which tracks the desired knee angle
qd2is written as
Uc = M2,77, + M,, (Vd2 +K,e +K , 4 (4)
+ c,(77,li) + K , (17)
where
Tld2
: desired knee angle trajectory
e=77d2 -7?2 : tracking error
K , ,K,, : control gain
term is simplified into K , ( q ) in eqn. (4) ,
K,(q,X,?,?/,)
since the hip accelerations Xh, yh are small.
Figure 1 The amputee's swing leg model

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 Then, the control input T(B) is chosen as where uV = pressure drop due to viscous flow
c, =2-3
1)if w > O 7, (H) = variable yield stress
(controlled by magnetic field)
L = field length
(5)
= g a p length
otherwise
If the magnetic field is induced by moving a permanent
2)if w < O
magnet instead of applying current to a solenoid, it has
TBman i f T, < -T,,,, advantage in power consumption, but there exist time
delay in operating motor additionally.[3,4] Because fast
otherwise response time is needed in tracking knee angle, a solenoid
is selected as a magnetic field induction device.
where, T ~ : , maximum
~ ~ ~variable torque The structure of MR damper is shown in figure 3.
T , = uk- c w - T , s ~ ~ ~ ( w ) Magnetic filed is applied in the upper plate of choke
(choke: narrow and long passage, in which pressure drop
is affected by viscosity ) and cross section of choke is
3 Design of the Damper for Above Knee rectangular. Magnet core is made of silicon steel, the
Prosthesis resistance of coil is 10.6Q and inductance is 1H. As a
current
current supplier, PWM generator and amplifier are used.
P aramagnetic In addition, the upper plate of choke is made of
magnetic fie1Id
nonmagnetic material and the lower plate of choke is
made of soft steel in order to minimize the leakage flux.
The gap of damper is selected as 2". [3,4]
J ferromagnetic
material 9
M , I I I , I I I I

'
rotary vane

Figure 3 Structure of the damper

The rotary MR damper is made of the rotary cylinder

0 10 20 3C 40 50 50 70 80 90 100
which is filled with MR fluid and of which two ports are PWM duty (%)
connected each other. In this damper, the pressure drop in
the duct acts as a resistant force to the rotation.[3,4,5] The Figure 4 Relation between PWM duty, torque and
relation between torque dissipation and pressure is given angular velocity (duty 100 correspond to 2 Ampere)
by

T=- @''
2K
+TJ (7)

where v, = Volumetric displacement

T, = Frictional torque
LIP = pressure drop

The pressure drop in a valve mode device is composed

of viscous component and an applied field dependent
induced yield stress component.[6]
c,zy ( H ) L Figure 5 Controller for the MR damper
AP=APq + (8)
g

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 Figure 4 shows the relation between PWM duty, torque
dissipation and angular velocity for the damper. Figure 5
shows the controller for the MR damper. It is composed
of TMS320F240 DSP, AD converter, ROM, RAM, PWM
AMP and serial communication module.

4 Leg Simulator
The leg simulator is used for generating the various
movements of human thigh. This simulator shortens time
of developing AK prostheses and makes it possible to get
reliable results from lots of experiments. The simulator in 0 02 04 06
Time (Sec)
OS 1

figure 6 has 3 DOF - horizontal, vertical and rotational

movement. The linear actuator and ball screw generate
horizontal and vertical movements. Hip motor generates Figure 8 Hip angle of Leg simulator
hip rotation. Because only the acceleration terms affect
the dynamics of knee in the equation (2), we have no need 5 Tracking Control of Knee Angle
to consider constant horizontal speed in x,,. i.e the
simulator have no reason to go on forward. The author' s IDER
gait data was used for reference data. The hip trajectory
and angle are shown in figure 7 & 8.

4- FOOT

Figure 9 AK prosthesis using MR damper

Figure 6. Appearance of Leg Simulator
MR damper is attached in the thigh of simulator as
shown in figure 9 and tracking control of knee angle is
I I I I 8 I 1 1 I performed. Repetitive controller in conjunction with a
PD control law and computed control law is used for the
control algorithm. Repetitive control law is useful for
known periodic reference commands. Its control input is
calculated using the information of the error signal in the
preceding periods and can be expressed as follows
U,+I ( k ) = U , ( k ) + @e, ( k + 1) (9)
where @ is the learning gain, k is time step in the
period and the subscript indicates the repetition number. It
is reported that the repetitive control law with a computed
0.42 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 05 torque control law, or a PD control law, assures good
Xh (MI
tracking performance when the desired trajectory is
Figure 7 Hip trajectory of Leg simulator

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periodic and the period is known.[8] Moreover, It is
desirable to include a anti-windup concept when the
actuator is operating at its saturation limit.[9]
Tracking control of the knee angle have been carried out
to examine the performance of the controller. Figure
10(A) is the knee tracking error when PD control law and
computed torque law are adopted. RMS errors are more
than 4' as the repetition. q, is assumed to be known in
the experiment.
2 4 6 8 10
relielltlon
12
Figure 10 Comparison of RMS tracking error
as the repetition
Figure 10(B) is the knee tracking error when repetitive
controller in conjunction with a PD control law and
computed control law is used. This RMS error converges
as the repetition and the deviation of error is also small.
Figure 1 1 shows the tracking control of knee as the
repetition. Only initial angle was set to be coincided with
the reference as a initial condition, initial angular velocity
and acceleration was set to zero in the experiment.
I . I .- I . I .
00 02 04 08
penodic hme(sec)
Figure 11 Relative knee joint angle tracking of PD
+ Computed torque + Repetitive control method
The time interval between 0. lsec and 0.4sec corresponds
to the stance phase, in which the weight is applied on the
ground in the real environment. Large error was found in
this interval because the resistant force from the ground
was not applied to the foot. If the resistant force is applied
to the damper in the real environment, the damper should
give a maximum torque to achieve stability.
6 Estimation of Gait Period Using Gyro
In order to design the controller adaptable to the walking
speed, the gait period should be estimated. Gyro sensor is
attached to the thigh because person moves the thigh
actively. Gait period is estimated by measuring the zero
crossing interval of gyro signal.[7] Initial gait period is
assumed to the normal walking speed and the updated
value of estimated value is determined by
T ( k + 1) = T ( k ) +ore@) (10)
where e(k) = T,,( k ) - ~ ( k :)k-th error
T(k) : k-th estimation period
I4 16 18
Tm( k ) : k-th measurement period
a : weighting factor
After generating the reference knee angle trajectory
based on the estimated period, the tracking of the
trajectory has been performed. The result is represented in
figure 12. At the transition of gyro signal from minus to
plus sign, the period is estimated by the equation (10) and
new reference profile is generated. In the experiment, leg
simulator is operated repeatedly with the 1.1Ssec period.
At the start, the damper is maintained passively without
control until first zero crossing point is detected.
1 . 5 ~ ~ I
b I I , I
08 I O
S I
-th period
Figure 12 Knee joint angle tracking and estimation of
period
Relative knee joint angle is minus sign at the start since
3690
the proposed AK prosthesis is now the structure that can 2857-2865,1996
be folded down inversely. In the estimation of period, a
[7] J.C. Cho, "A Study on Control for Above-Knee
is 0.5 and initial period is assumed to 1 sec. The estimated
Prosthesis through Gait Analysis," M.Eng. Thesis, Dept of
period converges in the 5-6 repetitions as shown in the figure.
Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, 1998
[8] Tsai, M.'C., Anwar, G. and Tomizuka, M., "Discrete
7 Conclusion Time Repetitive Control for Robot Manipulators", IEEE
International Conf. On Robotics and Automation, pp.
In this study, we proposed rotary MR damper using 1341-1346, Philadelphia, PN, 1988
microprocessor as a control device for AK prosthesis. We
[9] Y.S. Ryu and R.W. Longman, "Use of Anti-Reset
designed the MR damper that is controlled by applying
Windup in Integral Control Based Learning and
current to a solenoid. The damper was attached into knee
Repetitive Control," IEEE Int. Conf. on Systems, Man,
of leg simulator and experimental tracking control of
and Cybernetics, Vol3, pp. 2617 -2622, 1994
above knee angle was carried out. Leg simulator was
designed and this robot made it possible to develop
intelligent AK prosthesis. As the controller for tracking of
repetitive reference profile, repetitive controller in
conjunction with a PD control law and computed control
law was adopted. Consequently, the algorithm reduced
RMS tracking error and possibility of application for AK
prosthesis was proved. Using gyro sensor attached in the
thigh, the gait period was estimated and real time
feedback control adaptable to walking speed was
performed based on the estimated period. As a future
work, structural reinforcement should be carried out to
resist the sufficient weight at stance phase even though
the damper is passive condition without power supply.

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[2] A.Bar, G.Ishai, P. Meretsky and Y. Koren, "Adaptive
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[3] J.H. Kim, J.H Oh, "The design of low-power MR
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[4] J.H. Kim, "A study on the design of valve mode MR
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[5] S.H. Kim, "Constrained Rotary MR Damper Design
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