BRITE Synergy: Programmable Wearable Textile Robotics for Ubiquitous Assistance

这个促进工程变革和公平进步的研究思路（BRITE）协同奖支持研究通过独特的制造工艺创建的新型可穿戴机器人系统。该项目旨在开发一种新型的服装状机器人，为神经肌肉疾病和其他残疾患者提供辅助技术，并为日常使用的工人提供增强功能。在临床应用中，这种新型可穿戴机器人将能够为诊断、治疗和康复提供生命信号监测，具有高度的舒适性、生物相容性和可操作性，从而改善个性化医疗保健。辅助机器人可以增强上肢的能力，并防止在具有挑战性的工作条件下受伤。该项目将通过各种活动向教室和社区的广大受众传播研究成果。它还将为学生提供培训，特别是那些来自STEM代表性不足的群体的学生。该项目的研究目标是建立一个新的智能和可编程的可穿戴纺织机器人，用于上肢辅助。机器人将通过基于新型制造技术制成的纺织材料的机制，在真实的时间内集成感知、理解和模仿骨骼肌行为。为了实现这一目标，需要整合多学科知识，包括可穿戴传感，连续特征识别，分布式驱动，可穿戴机器人设计和控制。为了实现研究目标，计划进行两项研究任务：1）开发智能和鲁棒的基于纺织品的人机界面，并建立对肌肉行为的理解; 2）开发基于可编程分布式执行器的可穿戴纺织机器人，由人类输入控制。该项目的成功将促进纺织机器人作为下一代无处不在的援助技术的大规模生产。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估而被认为值得支持。

This Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering (BRITE) Synergy award supports research into new wearable robotic systems created with a unique manufacturing process. This project aims to develop a new class of garment-like robots that will provide assistive technology for patients with neuromuscular disorders and other disabilities, as well as augmentive capabilities for workers in everyday use. In clinical applications, this new class of wearable robots will be able to provide vital-signal monitoring for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation with high comfort, biocompatibility, and operability, improving personalized healthcare. The assistive robots can augment upper limb capabilities and prevent injuries in challenging working conditions. This project will disseminate the research products to a broad audience in both classrooms and communities through various activities. It will also provide training to students, especially those from groups underrepresented in STEM.The research goal of this project is to establish a new class of smart and programmable wearable textile robots for upper extremity assistance. The robots will integrate sensing, understanding, and mimicking of skeletal muscle behaviors in real time, through mechanisms based on textile materials made by novel manufacturing techniques. To achieve the goal, multidisciplinary knowledge needs to be integrated, including wearable sensing, continuous feature recognition, distributed actuation, and wearable robot design and control. Two research tasks are planned for achieving the research goal: 1) Developing smart and robust textile-based human interfaces and building understanding of muscle behaviors and 2) developing wearable textile robots based on programmable distributed actuators controlled by human inputs. The success of this project will promote the mass production of textile robots as a next-generation technology for ubiquitous assistance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.