The present invention includes two embodiments of a tethered ankle-foot prosthesis, one with a single toe to provide plantarflexion and with two independently-actuated toes that are coordinated to provide plantarflexion and inversion-eversion torques. An end-effector was designed which is worn by a subject, and which was integrated with existing off-board motor and control hardware, to facilitate high bandwidth torque control. The platform is suitable for haptic rendering of virtual devices in experiments with humans, which may reveal strategies for improving balance or allow controlled comparisons of conventional prosthesis features. A similar morphology is also effective for autonomous devices.
Methods, apparatuses and systems for amputee gait capacity assessment