Textile-Based Soft Wearable Robots to Improve Quality of Life Across Wide Spectrum of Applications

Wearable robots typically signify a specific solution for a specific problem or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to different purposes, such as preventive care, health monitoring, assisting, and augmentation. We have been developing a new concept of wearable robots to assist humans in a spectrum of applications varying from highly constrained medical setups to home use. We used textile materials to build the exoskeletons, which makes them more suitable for long-wearing duration, lightweight, and cost-effective. Different control strategies were deployed to measure the wearer's in-tention and operate the exoskeleton accordingly. Furthermore, our neuro-cognitive user study shows that the exoskeleton aligns with human expectations as a sign of embodiment, Elec- troencephalography data shows that an error-related potential appears after unexpected actions of the exoskeleton; these were decodable with an average accuracy of 76.63 ± 1.73%.