Abstract
The science and technology of wearable robots are steadily advancing, and the use of such robots in our everyday life appears to be within reach. Nevertheless, widespread adoption of wearable robots should not be taken for granted, especially since many recent attempts to bring them to real-life applications resulted in mixed outcomes. The aim of this article is to address the current challenges that are limiting the application and wider adoption of wearable robots that are typically worn over the human body. We categorized the challenges into mechanical layout, actuation, sensing, body interface, control, human-robot interfacing and coadaptation, and benchmarking. For each category, we discuss specific challenges and the rationale for why solving them is important, followed by an overview of relevant recent works. We conclude with an opinion that summarizes possible solutions that could contribute to the wider adoption of wearable robots.
Highlights
Wearable robots are slowly but persistently entering our everyday lives—either at work, in sports, during rehabilitation, and in other situations
We focus on wearable robots that are typically worn over the human body—for example, stiff exoskeletons, soft actuated suits, and hybrid soft-stiff exoskeletons
We have presented challenges related to seven important technological aspects of wearable robots that are currently limiting broader adoption of such robots in numerous everyday applications, from healthcare to e14-20 Jan Babič et al
Summary
Robotics & Multibody Mechanics Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders Make, Brussels, Belgium. Biomechatronics Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, Ozyegin University, Istanbul, Turkey. Delft Haptics Lab, Department of Cognitive Robotics, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
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