BRITE Synergy: Programmable Wearable Textile Robotics for Ubiquitous Assistance

这一促进变革性和公平工程进步的研究想法(BRITE)协同奖支持对采用独特制造工艺创建的新型可穿戴机器人系统的研究。该项目旨在开发一种新的服装状机器人，为神经肌肉疾病和其他残疾患者提供辅助技术，并为工人提供日常使用的增强能力。在临床应用中，这一新型可穿戴机器人将能够以高舒适性、生物兼容性和可操作性为诊断、治疗和康复提供生命信号监测，改善个性化医疗保健。辅助机器人可以增强上肢能力，并在具有挑战性的工作条件下防止受伤。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，特别是那些在STEM中代表性不足的学生。该项目的研究目标是建立一种新的用于上肢辅助的智能可编程可穿戴纺织机器人。这些机器人将通过基于新制造技术制造的纺织材料的机制，实时集成对骨骼肌行为的感知、理解和模仿。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、分布式驱动和可穿戴机器人设计和控制。为了实现研究目标，计划进行两个研究任务：1)开发智能和健壮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驱动器的可穿戴纺织机器人。该项目的成功将推动纺织机器人的大规模生产，成为无处不在的下一代辅助技术。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，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.