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REVIEW article

Front. Neurorobot.
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnbot.2024.1443010

Neuro-motor Controlled Wearable Augmentations: Current Research and Emerging Trends

Provisionally accepted
  • New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Wearable augmentations (WAs) designed for movement and manipulation, such as exoskeletons and supernumerary robotic limbs, are used to enhance the physical abilities of healthy individuals and substitute or restore lost functionality for impaired individuals. Non-invasive neuro-motor (NM) technologies, including electroencephalography (EEG) and sufrace electromyography (sEMG), promise direct and intuitive communication between the brain and the WA. After presenting a historical perspective, this review proposes a conceptual model for NM-controlled WAs, analyzes key design aspects, such as hardware design, mounting methods, control paradigms, and sensory feedback, that have direct implications on the user experience, and in the long term, on the embodiment of WAs. The literature is surveyed and categorized into three main areas: hand WAs, upper body WAs, and lower body WAs. The review concludes by highlighting the primary findings, challenges, and trends in NM-controlled WAs. This review motivates researchers and practitioners to further explore and evaluate the development of WAs, ensuring a better quality of life.

    Keywords: Wearable augmentation, Electroencephalography, Electromyography, Sensory feedback, embodiment

    Received: 03 Jun 2024; Accepted: 15 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Alsuradi, Hong, Mazi and Eid. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Haneen Alsuradi, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
    Mohamad Eid, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.