Table 1.
Wearable robot technology for assistance to lower and upper limbs.
| Assistive System |
Application | Material Structure |
Degrees of Freedom (DoF) |
Assisted Body Segments |
Actuation Type |
Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReWalk [12] | Assistance to stand upright and walk |
Rigid materials |
6 DoF | Hip flexion/extension Knee flextion/extension |
Electric motors |
23 kg |
| HAL [28] | Human gait rehabilitation, strength, augmentation |
Rigid materials |
4 DoF | Hip flexion/extension Knee flextion/extension |
Electric motors |
21 kg |
| REX [32] | Human locomotion in forward and backward directions, turn and climb stairs. |
Rigid materials |
10 DoF | Hip flexion/extension Knee flexion/extension Posture support |
Electric motors |
38 kg |
| Vanderbuilt exoskeleton [33] |
Assistance for walking, sitting, standing, walking up and down stairs |
Rigid materials |
4 DoF | Hip flexion/extension Knee flexion/extension |
Electric motors |
12 kg |
| HandeXos- Beta [34] |
Hand motion rehabilitation for multiple grip configurations |
Rigid materials |
5 DoF | Index finger flexion/extension Thumb finger flexion/extension and circumduction |
Electric motors |
0.42 g |
| HexoSYS [35] | Hand motion rehabilitation |
Rigid materials |
4 DoF | All fingers flexion/extension and abduction/adduction |
Electric motors |
1 kg |
| HES Hand [36] | Hand motion rehabilitation to recover hand motor skills |
Rigid materials |
5 DoF | All fingers flexion/extension | Electric motors |
1.5 kg |
| Soft-inflatable knee exosuit [42] |
Gait training for stroke rehabilitation |
Soft pneumatic materials |
1 DoF | Knee flexion | Pneumatic system, inflatable actuators |
0.16 kg |
| Soft hip exosuit [44] |
Assistance for level-ground walking |
Soft textile materials |
1 DoF | Hip extension | Electric motors, fabric bands |
0.17 kg |
| Multi-articular hip and knee exosuit [46] |
Assistance to gait impairments in sit-to-stand and stair ascent |
Soft materials and Bowen cables |
1 DoF | Hip and knee extension | Electrical motors, Bowden cables |
- |
| Soft robotic glove for assistance at home [47] |
Assistance to hand rehabilitation for grasping movements |
Soft elastomeric chambers |
3 DoF | All fingers flexion/extension | Pneumatic system |
0.5 kg |
| Soft wearable wrist [48] |
Assistance for rehabilitation of writs movement |
Soft reverse pneumatic artificial muscles |
2 DoF | Wrist flexion/extension and abduction/adduction |
Pneumatic system |
- |
| Soft robotic elbow sleeve [49] |
Assistance for rehabilitation of elbow movements |
Elastomeric and fabric-based pneumatic actuators |
2 DoF | Elbow flexion and extension | Pneumatic system |
- |