About this Research Topic
Robot-assisted healthcare offers benefits for repetitive and intensive tasks compared to traditional manual methods performed by physiotherapists. Recently, novel soft robots based on soft and compliant actuators made of materials that are inherently compatible with biological tissues provide better solutions to achieve truly adaptive assistive and rehabilitative technologies. They can improve comfort, repeatability, and portability while not constraining the user's natural degree of freedom, and providing multiple functions in assistance, therapy, rehabilitation, surgical, and diagnostic usage scenarios. Especially, with the growing healthcare needs of people to live independently with dignity, soft wearable robots are promising for elder care, bedside assistance, and more.
However, although wearable soft robots have been extensively studied in recent years, several challenges remain. For example, the functionalities of current wearable soft robots are still largely limited to replicating or supporting human limbs, and the mechanical power they can deliver is still limited compared to stiff designs. The assistive aid to patients is also far from the quality of care of professional/familiar caregivers.
The goal of this Research Topic is to present recent progress in cutting-edge development or concepts on wearable soft robots for healthcare applications, with interdisciplinary approaches from mechanical design, robot control, material science, etc. perspectives. This will include not only applications in the healthcare, assistance and rehabilitation domains such as devices to assist patients with eating, drinking, getting off bed, tilting the patient to prevent bedsores, health monitoring, or physical therapy, but also fundamental research targeted at novel soft smart materials, shape-morphing structures, compliant mechanisms, integrated design, and additive manufacturing technologies that can potentially facilitate development of new functionalities in wearable soft robots.
The scope of the Research Topic includes but is not limited to:
• Multifunctional smart materials for wearable soft robots.
• New functionalities that can be integrated with soft robots for healthcare applications.
• Novel actuation mechanisms that enable lightweight compliance, and high payload soft actuators.
• Novel methods and technologies for fabricating, testing, and evaluating soft robots.
• Methods and technologies for sensing and controlling soft robot movements.
• Model-based computational methods for assessing human and human-like locomotion.
• Modelling of the underlying mechanisms for the actuation of soft robots.
• Modelling of human autonomy related to replicating or supporting human motion.
• Control systems for soft robots with artificial muscles.
• Human-robot interfacing.
• Effectiveness of wearable soft robots on patient performance.
However, although wearable soft robots have been extensively studied in recent years, several challenges remain. For example, the functionalities of current wearable soft robots are still largely limited to replicating or supporting human limbs, and the mechanical power they can deliver is still limited compared to stiff designs. The assistive aid to patients is also far from the quality of care of professional/familiar caregivers.
The goal of this Research Topic is to present recent progress in cutting-edge development or concepts on wearable soft robots for healthcare applications, with interdisciplinary approaches from mechanical design, robot control, material science, etc. perspectives. This will include not only applications in the healthcare, assistance and rehabilitation domains such as devices to assist patients with eating, drinking, getting off bed, tilting the patient to prevent bedsores, health monitoring, or physical therapy, but also fundamental research targeted at novel soft smart materials, shape-morphing structures, compliant mechanisms, integrated design, and additive manufacturing technologies that can potentially facilitate development of new functionalities in wearable soft robots.
The scope of the Research Topic includes but is not limited to:
• Multifunctional smart materials for wearable soft robots.
• New functionalities that can be integrated with soft robots for healthcare applications.
• Novel actuation mechanisms that enable lightweight compliance, and high payload soft actuators.
• Novel methods and technologies for fabricating, testing, and evaluating soft robots.
• Methods and technologies for sensing and controlling soft robot movements.
• Model-based computational methods for assessing human and human-like locomotion.
• Modelling of the underlying mechanisms for the actuation of soft robots.
• Modelling of human autonomy related to replicating or supporting human motion.
• Control systems for soft robots with artificial muscles.
• Human-robot interfacing.
• Effectiveness of wearable soft robots on patient performance.
Keywords: Wearable soft robots, healthcare applications, smart materials
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