Redundant Control Policies for Safe Operation of an Exoskeleton

An exoskeleton, comprising:

• a plurality of support structures;
• a plurality of joint mechanisms each rotatably coupling two of the plurality of support structures;
• a plurality of sensors configured to generate sensor output data;
• a redundant control policy system operable to control at least one joint mechanism, the redundant control policy system comprising:
• at least two sensors, of the plurality of sensors, associated with the at least one joint mechanism;
• a controller configured to:
• determine whether each of the at least two sensors satisfy at least one self-test defined criterion;
• and
• control operation, based on the determination, of the at least one joint mechanism according to a selected control policy of the plurality of control policies.

A method for safe operation of an exoskeleton, the method comprising:

• operating at least one joint mechanism of the exoskeleton according to a first control policy of a plurality of control policies;
• operating a redundant control policy system of the exoskeleton, the redundant control policy system comprising a plurality of sensors and a controller, the plurality of sensors being associated with the at least one joint mechanism;
• facilitating operating the at least one joint mechanism according to a first control policy of a plurality of control policies;
• facilitating switching from the first control policy, using the controller, to a second control policy based on a determination whether each of the plurality of sensors satisfies at least one self-test defined criterion;
• and
• operating the at least one joint mechanism, using the controller, according to the second control policy.

An exoskeleton, comprising:

• a plurality of support structures;
• at least one joint mechanism rotatably coupling two of the plurality of support structures;
• a plurality of sensors associated with the at least one joint mechanism;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• generate a plurality of command signals according to a plurality of respective control policies;
• generate each command signal based on sensor output data from at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors;
• and
• control operation of the at least one joint mechanism according to a selected control policy of the plurality of control policies, wherein the selected control policy is based on an identified discrepancy between at least some of the plurality of command signals.