Chapter Six - Soft Wearable Robotics Technologies for Body Motion Sensing

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of soft wearable technologies, with the primary emphasis on body motion. It is very difficult to measure and assist motions of the human body with traditional robotics techniques since many parts of the human body are composed of soft tissues with three-dimensional curved surfaces. Although the skeletal structure of the body can be mechanically analyzed, external measurement, and assistance are not straightforward due to the soft structure. Furthermore, since traditional robots take advantage of certain characteristics of rigid structures, such as well-defined linkages and joints, some of the natural degrees of freedom of the human body must be mechanically constrained for monitoring and actively assisting body motions, which can be easily seen in exoskeletons. To solve this problem, people have been investigating various soft robotics technologies focusing on sensors and actuators made of hyperelastic materials. This chapter will first introduce the recent advances in highly stretchable artificial skin and flexible artificial muscle technologies that could be directly used for body motion sensing and actuation. Then, robotic systems that utilize the soft sensors and actuators integrated in various wearable systems are discussed as examples of assistive and rehabilitation technologies.