Soft wearable assistive robotics: exosuits and supernumerary limbs

The intrinsic soft nature of compliant supernumerary limbs and exosuits makes them appealing candidates for assisting human movements, with potential applications in healthcare, human augmentation and logistics. In the following chapter, we describe the technology used in exosuits and supernumerary limbs for assistance of activities of daily living, with emphasis on aiding grasping and flexion/ extension of the elbow joint. We discuss the mechanical design principles of such devices, detail the control paradigms that can be used for intention-detection and present the design and evaluation of cutaneous interfaces used for force feedback rendering. Tests on healthy and impaired subjects highlight that exosuits and supernumerary limbs are potential cost-effective and intrinsically safe solutions for increasing the capabilities of healthy subjects and improving the quality of life of subjects suffering from motor disorders.