SOFT WEARABLE ASSISTIVE GARMENTS FOR HUMAN EMPOWERMENT (SWAG)

在过去的十年中，软机器人已成为增长最快的领域之一，与相关建模，传感，驱动和控制挑战相关的技术的发展作为该领域动力的一部分蓬勃发展。软机器人已经在各种应用中得到证明，例如可穿戴设备、移动的或机车机器人以及软操纵器。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，并且需要涉及诸如神经科学、生物力学、机器人控制、人机工程学和其他领域的多学科方法。SWAG旨在探索一种全新的软结构工程方法，该方法在制造针对人体易应变部分（即下半身和核心）的人类辅助外骨骼设备时，省略了由高强度织物和薄膜制成的充气式软结构的完全刚性材料。与其他现有方法相比，这种具有致动能力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，并且同时完全符合每个关节的复杂运动学。正因为如此，新的设计方法可以用作构建模块，通过适应连续体机器人设计实现的灵活和一致的运动，实现对多自由度关节（如踝关节或髋关节）的完全辅助。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。合作伙伴由在各自领域具有非常强的跟踪记录的领先学者的跨学科组合组成。他们得到了具有开发和验证应用驱动解决方案的能力的RTO的支持，以及两个旨在领导SWAG成果开发的商业合作伙伴。

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.