SOFT WEARABLE ASSISTIVE GARMENTS FOR HUMAN EMPOWERMENT (SWAG)

软机器人技术已成为过去十年中发展最快的领域之一，作为该领域推动力的一部分，与相关建模、传感、驱动和控制挑战相关的技术的发展蓬勃发展。软机器人已在多种应用中得到展示，例如可穿戴设备、移动或机车机器人以及软机械手。软下肢外骨骼（“软可穿戴机器人”（SWR））是最具挑战性的研究课题之一，需要涉及神经科学、生物力学、机器人控制、人体工程学等不同领域的多学科方法。 SWAG 旨在探索一种全新的软结构工程方法，在制造针对人体易受拉伤部位（即下​​半身和核心）的人体辅助外骨骼装置时，无需使用由高强度织物和薄膜制成的充气结构的完全刚性材料。与其他现有方法相比，这种具有驱动功能的柔软可穿戴自适应服装提供了更高的可变刚度和力重量比，同时完全符合每个关节复杂的运动学。因此，新的设计方法可以用作构建块，通过适应连续体机器人设计实现的灵活且一致的运动，实现对踝关节或髋关节等多自由度关节的完整辅助。 SWAG 的进步将在 4 个不同的应用场景中得到展示。该项目汇集了来自 5 个欧盟国家和英国的 13 个合作伙伴。合作伙伴由跨学科的顶尖学者组成，他们在各自领域拥有非常出色的业绩记录。他们得到了具有开发和验证应用驱动解决方案能力的 RTO 以及两个旨在领导 SWAG 成果开发的商业合作伙伴的支持。

Soft robotics has become one of the fastest growing fields over the last decade, and the development of technologies related to the associated modelling, sensing, actuation and control challenges has flourished as part of the field’s impetus. Soft robots have been demonstrated in diverse applications such as wearable devices, mobile or locomotive robots, as well as soft manipulators. Soft lower extremity exoskeletons (“soft wearable robotics" (SWRs)) are one of the most challenging research topics, and require multidisciplinary approaches involving diverse fields such as neuroscience, biomechanics, robot control, ergonomics and other fields. SWAG aims to explore a fundamentally new approach to engineering soft structures that omit fully rigid materials for inflatable ones made from high strength fabrics and films when manufacturing human-assistive exoskeletal devices that target strain-prone segments of the human body (i.e. lower body and core). Such soft wearable adaptive garments with actuation capabilities offer higher variable stiffness and force-to weight ratios compared to other existing methods, and simultaneously entirely conform to each joint’s intricate kinematics. Because of this, new design approaches can be used as building blocks to realise complete assistance for multi-degree-of-freedom joints, such as the ankle or hip, by adapting flexible and conforming motions achieved by continuum robot designs. SWAG’s advances will be demonstrated in 4 different application scenarios. The project brings together 13 partners from 5 EU countries and the UK. The partners consist of an interdisciplinary combination of leading academics with very strong track records in their respective fields. They are supported by RTOs with demonstrated capabilities of developing and validating application-driven solutions, as well as two commercial partners aiming to lead the exploitation of SWAG’s outcomes.