Effective and comfortable chain-linking anchoring with anisotropic stiffness for soft wearable robots

This study presents a wearable robot equipped with a novel anchoring structure designed to improve both force transmission efficiency and user comfort. While soft wearable robots are inherently more comfortable than rigid exoskeletons, they often suffer from significant force loss and increased anchoring pressure when higher assistive forces are applied. To address this trade-off, a chain-linking anchoring structure with anisotropic stiffness was developed and integrated into the wearable system. The structure is designed to exhibit high stiffness in regions critical for force transmission, minimizing deformation, while maintaining low stiffness in areas that require gentle deformation for wearer comfort. Experimental validation of the wearable robot demonstrated a 34.2% improvement in force transmission efficiency compared to conventional anchoring methods, without compromising comfort. These results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed robot in delivering strong assistance while remaining comfortable, offering a practical solution for the advancement of wearable assistive technologies.