EP Docs¶

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Welcome to Epically Powerful!¶

Epically Powerful is an open-source code base and mechatronics package designed to simplify the creation of wearable and general robotic systems. Our platform seamlessly integrates commercially-available computers, actuators, and sensors, handling low-level code implementation to enable easy user interfacing, simplified control, versatile communication management, and easy data collection. For the most part, EP is a set of convenience wrappers around other Python libraries, giving simplified interfaces and some additional tools that make everyone’s lives easier. Along with the code base, we also provide guidance on ordering components and constructing your system. These utilities are complemented by extension documentation, examples, and videos to aid in expedited system construction and operation.

Our Mission

Our goal is to lower the barriers to designing custom wearable and other robotic systems, enabling users to spend more time using their device for research rather than spend time designing, building, and validating device operation.

Key Features¶

Versatile Software Package: Includes easily installable code to control systems with common electrical actuators and IMUs, as well as basic control structuring and data recording.
Comprehensive Documentation: Step-by-step instructions for setting up microcontrollers, actuators, sensors, power systems and communication networks.
Built-in Controllers: Access impedance, position, and other example/stock controllers, along with a dynamic visualization interface.
Useful Resources: Recommended materials lists, design guidelines, basic and comprehensive startup guides, and video tutorials for seamless hardware and software integration.
Continual Improvements: Support for new hardware and development-focused issue tracking.

Who We Are¶

This project was driven by a team of robotics PhD students at Georgia Tech. We are members of the Exoskeleton and Prosthetic Intelligent Controls (EPIC) Lab and the Physiology of Wearable Robotics (PoWeR) Lab. Our primary use of Epically Powerful has been in building exoskeleton and prosthetic systems for human assistance and augmentation.

Authors of Epically Powerful include: ^#Jennifer K. Leestma, ^#Siddharth R. Nathella, ^#Christoph Nuesslein, Snehil Mathur, Gregory S. Sawicki, and Aaron J. Young

^#These authors contributed equally to this work

See the preprint outlining Epically Powerful on arXiv!

Community and Development¶

We invite interaction and collaboration in further developing Epically Powerful through the Issues and Discussion boards on our GitHub page. We encourage new users to connect with us via an introductory post on the GitHub discussion board! We’re excited to have labs from the following universities using EP:

Publications Powered by Epically Powerful¶

JK Leestma, S Mathur, M Anderton, GS Sawicki, and AJ Young, Dynamic duo: Design and validation of an autonomous frontal and sagittal actuating hip exoskeleton for step placement modulation during perturbed locomotion, Robotics and Automation Letters, 2024.