ExoBoot, a Soft Inflatable Robotic Boot to Assist Ankle During Walking: Design, Characterization and Preliminary Tests

Chung, Jinwon; Heimgartner, Roman; O’Neill, Ciarán T.; Phipps, Nathan S.; Walsh, Conor J.

doi:10.1109/biorob.2018.8487903

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Recent studies have started to explore soft alternatives, to create assistive devices that can be inconspicuously worn in daily life, using lightweight and compliant materials (Panizzolo et al, 2016;Chung et al, 2018;Sridar et al, 2018). Instead of rigid and bulky structures, soft devices can conform to the body's natural mechanics and minimize user discomfort.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many soft devices still rely on hard actuators like electric motors or pneumatic pistons and batteries to power the soft components. But these rigid components re-introduce issues of excessive bulk and weight (Panizzolo et al, 2016;Schmidt et al, 2017;Chung et al, 2018;Sridar et al, 2018). Fully soft assistive devices have not yet been practically achieved because their inadequate power typically limits benefits from energy savings or muscle activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Fully Soft and Passive Assistive Device to Lower the Metabolic Cost of Sit-to-Stand

Lee

Kim

Park

2020

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Various assistive devices like exoskeletons have been developed to aid the growing number of disabled people. Recent studies have started to explore using soft rather than rigid components to create lightweight and unobtrusive systems that can be more easily adopted by the general population. However, there is a tradeoff between compliance and power in these systems. We investigated the physiological benefits of using an inconspicuous, soft and passive assistive device which would avoid bulkiness, heaviness and user discomfort. We chose to assist the sit-to-stand (STS) maneuver because it is a common activity of daily living (ADL). STS is also recognized as one of the most challenging ADLs due to the high knee torque required, and the primary limiting factor is known to be knee extensor strength. Thus, the objective of this research was to develop and evaluate an unobtrusive knee assist wear called X-tights that could aid knee extension during STS using only soft and passive components. This was accomplished by routing elastic bands across the lower extremity. Thirty-one healthy participants performed STS tests with and without the X-tights, while metabolic cost and muscle activity were recorded. Metabolic power significantly decreased, by 3.2 ± 1.5% (P = 0.04), when utilizing the X-tights during the STS, while there was no statistically significant differences in muscle activity. The present work introduces a new soft and passive assist wear that can be worn inconspicuously under normal clothing, and we demonstrate promising results for the future development and integration of soft assistive technology for daily life.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Fully Soft and Passive Assistive Device to Lower the Metabolic Cost of Sit-to-Stand

Lee

Kim

Park

2020

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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“…The benefits of using a single layer of thin film or textile is the simplicity in the final design, as well as the low profile the resulting actuator will possess when at atmospheric pressure. When depressurized, most textiles return to a state in which there is minimal volume or thickness in the actuator, which prevents the body of the actuator from becoming a hindrance to the movement of the user more so than rigid robotic counterparts (Chung et al 2018). A combination of material properties, textiles, and basic geometric configurations of bladders is used to achieve the desired motion and force output (Felt et al 2018;Cappello et al 2018a).…”

Section: Fabric-based Inflatables and Textilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This actuator design can provide variable stiffness as seen in the elastomeric design from National University of Singapore (Koh et al 2017), where the inherent stiffness and recoiling effect of the beam are used to push the elbow into extension. Another example is the ExoBoot from Harvard University (Chung et al 2018), which uses an inflatable textile beam to push the foot into plantarflexion. The beam design is beneficial when either placed laterally across a joint to serve as a split or pull into alignment when activated (Natividad and Yeow 2016) or is placed in acute angle of a joint to push the joint to straighten as the beam inflates and extends (Miller-Jackson et al 2019c).…”

Section: Extending/stiffeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(b) Shows an exosuit with a combination of cables and passive elastic bands used to assist the hip and knee joints (Schmidt et al 2017). (c) Provides an example of a soft knee exosuit using elastomeric pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) (Park et al 2014b), (d) an ankle device using cabledriven mechanisms to support multiple degrees of freedom from Carnegie Mellon University (Kwon et al 2019), and (e) shows the ExoBoot, which uses fabric-based inflatables for ankle plantarflexion (Chung et al 2018).…”

Section: Hipmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of soft wearable robots that provide active assistance: Trends, common actuation methods, fabrication, and applications

Thalman

Artemiadis

2020

Wearable Technol.

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This review meta-analysis combines and compares the findings of previously published works in the field of soft wearable robots (SWRs) that provide active methods of actuation for assistive and augmentative purposes. A thorough investigation of major contributions in the field of an SWR is made to analyze trends in the field focused on fluidic and cable-driven systems, prevalent and successful approaches, and identify the future direction of SWRs and active actuation strategies. Types of soft actuators used in wearables are outlined, as well as general practices for fabrication methods of soft actuators and considerations for human–robot interface designs of garment-like exosuits. An overview of well-known and emerging upper body (UB)- and lower body (LB)-assistive technologies is categorized by the specific joints and degree of freedom (DoF) assisted and which actuator methodology is provided. Different use cases for SWRs are addressed, as well as implementation strategies and design applications.

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Textile Technology for Soft Robotic and Autonomous Garments

Sánchez¹,

Walsh²,

Wood³

2020

Adv Funct Materials

Self Cite

167

123

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Textiles have emerged as a promising class of materials for developing wearable robots that move and feel like everyday clothing. Textiles represent a favorable material platform for wearable robots due to their flexibility, low weight, breathability, and soft hand‐feel. Textiles also offer a unique level of programmability because of their inherent hierarchical nature, enabling researchers to modify and tune properties at several interdependent material scales. With these advantages and capabilities in mind, roboticists have begun to use textiles, not simply as substrates, but as functional components that program actuation and sensing. In parallel, materials scientists are developing new materials that respond to thermal, electrical, and hygroscopic stimuli by leveraging textile structures for function. Although textiles are one of humankind's oldest technologies, materials scientists and roboticists are just beginning to tap into their potential. This review provides a textile‐centric survey of the current state of the art in wearable robotic garments and highlights metrics that will guide materials development. Recent advances in textile materials for robotic components (i.e., as sensors, actuators, and integration components) are described with a focus on how these materials and technologies set the stage for wearable robots programmed at the material level.

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ExoBoot, a Soft Inflatable Robotic Boot to Assist Ankle During Walking: Design, Characterization and Preliminary Tests

Cited by 39 publications

References 24 publications

A Fully Soft and Passive Assistive Device to Lower the Metabolic Cost of Sit-to-Stand

A Fully Soft and Passive Assistive Device to Lower the Metabolic Cost of Sit-to-Stand

A review of soft wearable robots that provide active assistance: Trends, common actuation methods, fabrication, and applications

Textile Technology for Soft Robotic and Autonomous Garments

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