Abstract: This paper presents an innovative design of a Bionic Powered Ankle Prosthesis (BPAP) utilizing a muscle recruitment mechanism-inspired clutch, aimed at achieving biomimetic simulation of ankle muscle function. To address the varying stiffness requirements of the prosthesis across different gaits, the clutch dynamically switch between different rope bundle combinations. The mechanical characteristics during the load traction process of the selected flexible ropes are also studied. A mathematical model of the series elastic drive system is established. The optimization is carried out with the minimum peak power required by the motor as the optimization goal. The experimental results show that by applying a clutch with human muscle recruitment mechanism, the proposed prosthesis can achieve better energy efficiency at different speeds.

Key words: Powered ankle prosthesis, Muscle recruitment mechanism, Artificial muscle, Flexible rope energystorage, Series elastic actuator')">Powered ankle prosthesis, Muscle recruitment mechanism, Artificial muscle, Flexible rope energystorage, Series elastic actuator