Exoskeletons can enhance human mobility, but we still know little about why they are effective. For example, we do not know the relative importance of training, how much is required, or what type is most effective; how people adapt with the device; or the relative benefits of customizing assistance. We conducted experiments in which naïve users learned to walk with ankle exoskeletons under one of three training regimens characterized by different levels of variation in device behavior. Assistance was also customized for one group. After moderate-variation training, the benefits of customized assistance were large; metabolic rate was reduced by 39% compared with walking with the exoskeleton turned off. Training contributed about half of this benefit and customization about one-quarter; a generic controller reduced energy cost by 10% before training and 31% afterward. Training required much more exposure than typical of exoskeleton studies, about 109 minutes of assisted walking. Type of training also had a strong effect; the low-variation group required twice as long as the moderate-variation group to become expert, and the high-variation group never acquired this level of expertise. Curiously, all users adapted in a way that resulted in less mechanical power from the exoskeleton as they gained expertise. Customizing assistance required less time than training for all parameters except peak torque magnitude, which grew slowly over the study, suggesting a longer time scale adaptation in the person. These results underscore the importance of training to the benefits of exoskeleton assistance and suggest the topic deserves more attention.

中文翻译：

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适应、培训和定制如何从外骨骼辅助中获益

外骨骼可以增强人类的机动性，但我们仍然对它们为何有效知之甚少。例如，我们不知道培训的相对重要性，需要多少，或者哪种类型最有效；人们如何适应设备；或定制援助的相对好处。我们进行了实验，在这些实验中，天真的用户学会了在三种训练方案中的一种下使用脚踝外骨骼行走，这些训练方案的特征是设备行为的不同程度的变化。还为一组定制了援助。中变训练后，定制化辅助收益大；与关闭外骨骼行走相比，代谢率降低了 39%。培训贡献了大约一半的好处，定制贡献了大约四分之一；通用控制器在训练前将能源成本降低了 10%，在训练后降低了 31%。与典型的外骨骼研究相比，训练需要更多的暴露时间，大约 109 分钟的辅助行走。培训类型也有很强的影响；低变异组成为专家所需的时间是中变异组的两倍，而高变异组从未获得这种水平的专业知识。奇怪的是，所有用户都适应了一种方式，当他们获得专业知识时，外骨骼的机械动力就会减少。除了峰值扭矩幅度外，定制辅助所需的时间比所有参数的训练时间都要少，峰值扭矩幅度在研究中增长缓慢，表明人的时间尺度适应时间更长。