Pneumatic Exoskeleton

Description

I've always wanted to make an exoskeleton ever since the first Iron Man movie. Unfortunately, an Iron Man suit isn't really realistic. The exoskeleton/loader from the Alien movies is -- but it'd cost way too much to build right now (someday...)

After the Elysium movie came out I had a new idea... A bare-bones, super basic, externally mounted augmented strength exoskeleton. Just like the one in the movie. Again, this wasn't going to be that cheap... until I came into possession of over a dozen pneumatic cylinders that were getting thrown out! I started designing it in CAD and...

Components

8 × Speedaire 6W147 Pneumatic Cylinder 4" stroke, 1-1/2" bore, 250PSI max, 442LB at max pressure (http://www.grainger.com/product/SPEEDAIRE-Air-Cylinder-6W147)

1 × 1" x 1" Perforated Steel Tubing Strong, rigid, light.

1 × Festo 8-card valve bank Found at a surplus store for $70!

1 × Nuts and Bolts

1 × 3/4" Steel Box Tube (0.100 wall thickness)

Project Logs

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The Big Test: Curling 170lb (80kg)
James Hobson • 08/30/2014 at 12:57 • 0 comments
Preparing for the Big Test
James Hobson • 08/30/2014 at 12:48 • 0 comments

So unfortunately, I don't own weights to test this thing out... I'm thinking I'll try and make some concrete ones -- or as a fall back plan, just use cinder blocks.
Okay so making concrete ones didn't work out so well -- cinder blocks will have to do.
Last minute preparations before the big test...
Let's test it again!
James Hobson • 08/30/2014 at 12:46 • 0 comments

Alright so I've got the one arm mounted to the frame -- let's see how she works!
Seems to work pretty good... Let's make the other arm and mount it all together!
Putting it all together
James Hobson • 08/30/2014 at 12:43 • 0 comments

Let's put it all together!
A Question of Joints
James Hobson • 08/08/2014 at 10:51 • 0 comments

One of the trickiest parts of this build will be keeping the exoskeleton flexible, so I've been looking at using Ball Joints (Spherical Rod Ends or Heim Joints). But can I combine two together to make a joint with more flexibility?
Building the Frame
James Hobson • 08/08/2014 at 10:49 • 0 comments

So to mount this thing on me I can't exactly copy the real Elysium design... not crazy about installing screws into my skeleton...

I was trying to figure out a way to make a frame that can support a large weight so I looked at camping backpack frame designs... Perfect. But we're going to have to make one out of steel to make it a bit stronger.
Planning and Design
James Hobson • 08/08/2014 at 10:46 • 0 comments

Time for some planning before we get too far ahead of ourselves!
Successful Lift!
James Hobson • 06/16/2014 at 12:37 • 0 comments

It works! We're currently running it at 100PSI and even at that pressure it is capable of curling a battery that weighs 67lbs!

These cylinders are rated for 250PSI, so hypothetically we could lift over 150lbs! Per arm!
The First Test!
James Hobson • 06/16/2014 at 12:34 • 0 comments

This is exciting -- let's test out the arm!
Testing out the Pneumatic Cylinders
James Hobson • 06/16/2014 at 12:32 • 0 comments

Now that I have a rough idea of what I'm doing, let's test out some of the components!

View all 11 project logs

Discussions

Dylan Bleier wrote 05/06/2015 at 00:19

I think DARPA has done the same thing. actually pretty cool.

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LunaEros wrote 08/31/2014 at 19:22

I like the Arc Reactor chest piece in the video.
Kinda says it all about your inspiration, goals, etc about the project.
Keep up the good work!

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DISTEFANOMARIO wrote 08/31/2014 at 07:04

Ciao James,
I appreciate a lot your efforts to build such a terrible machinery AT HOME (!) :-)
I only want to warn you, that since our own skeleton is not built to withstand too much overloads, some careful has to be taken into account for your knees and cartilage!
So there's ABSOLUTE NEED to add also legs of some sort, to this device, to give you a better stability under the load conditions.
Is way easier to replace a broken metal beam or a metal joint than the human counterpart!
Be careful!
Ciao & keep on the nice work!
Mario

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BDM wrote 08/24/2014 at 16:06

Lucky you being able to find pneumatic cylinders in the trash and great videos by the way, what software do you use?

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James Hobson wrote 08/28/2014 at 01:32

Thanks! I use Solidworks for all my CAD work

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Alvin1248 wrote 06/02/2014 at 21:08

If its money you need, seek out the usa military's funding. I've been in an experiment with wright Patterson air-force as a guest and was shown 2 things they were working on, and this technology of exoskeletons is it. They were describing carbon nano tubes to better the structure and weight so if lacking power it wont completely trap the human. but im sure your designs could help them. Most of them working on it was college students, and they had in my opinion no clue as what would be a good power source.

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James Hobson wrote 06/16/2014 at 12:23

Being a Canadian I don't think that'll work -- also I don't think pneumatics is really the way to go for military application... the problem is no power sources are that good yet anyway... For me it's more of a proof of concept, and a just for fun project.

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dave.m.mcdonough wrote 05/28/2014 at 00:39

What are your thoughts on controlling it?

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James Hobson wrote 06/16/2014 at 12:22

Down the road I'm hoping to use Thalmic Labs Myo gesture control device on each arm... but we'll see.

PS: Sorry I missed this, didn't get comment notifications!

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Pneumatic Exoskeleton

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