Research on robotic exoskeletons has rapidly expanded over the previous decade. Advances in robotic hardware and energy supplies have enabled viable prototypes for human testing. This review paper describes current lower limb robotic exoskeletons, with specific regard to common trends in the field. The preponderance of published literature lacks rigorous quantitative evaluations of exoskeleton performance, making it difficult to determine the disadvantages and drawbacks of many of the devices. We analyzed common approaches in exoskeleton design and the convergence, or lack thereof, with certain technologies. We focused on actuators, sensors, energy sources, materials, and control strategies. One of the largest hurdles to be overcome in exoskeleton research is the user interface and control. More intuitive and flexible user interfaces are needed to increase the success of robotic exoskeletons. In the last section, we discuss promising future solutions to the major hurdles in exoskeleton control. A number of emerging technologies could deliver substantial advantages to existing and future exoskeleton designs. We conclude with a listing of the advantages and disadvantages of the emerging technologies and discuss possible futures for the field.

中文翻译：

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下肢机器人外骨骼的最新技术和未来方向。

在过去的十年中，对机器人外骨骼的研究已迅速扩展。机器人硬件和能源供应的进步使可行的原型可以进行人体测试。这篇综述文章描述了当前的下肢机器人外骨骼，特别关注了该领域的共同趋势。大量的公开文献缺乏对外骨骼性能的严格的定量评估，这使得很难确定许多装置的优缺点。我们分析了外骨骼设计中的常见方法以及某些技术的收敛性或不足之处。我们专注于执行器，传感器，能源，材料和控制策略。用户界面和控制是外骨骼研究中要克服的最大障碍之一。需要更加直观和灵活的用户界面来增加机器人外骨骼的成功率。在上一节中，我们讨论了解决外骨骼控制中主要障碍的有希望的未来解决方案。许多新兴技术可以为现有和未来的外骨骼设计提供巨大的优势。最后，我们列出了新兴技术的优缺点，并讨论了该领域的未来前景。