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A highly flexible power-assisted exoskeleton and its comforting evaluation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2025

Limin Ren ,
Enhe Kou ,
Lirong Jian ,
Shixun Li ,
En Jiang ,
Xu Zhang ,
Huan Zhu ,
Shuairan Xu  and
Yisong Tan Open the ORCID record for Yisong Tan [Opens in a new window]
Limin Ren
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
Enhe Kou
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
Lirong Jian
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Management, Jiujiang Polytechnic University of Science and Technology, Gongqing City, Jiangxi, China
Shixun Li
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
En Jiang
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
Xu Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
Huan Zhu
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
Shuairan Xu
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
Yisong Tan*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, Jilin, China
*
Corresponding Author: Yisong Tan; Email: tanyisong@neepu.edu.cn
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Abstract

A flexible power assistive exoskeleton is proposed in this study to overcome limitations in range of motion, assistance, and comfort existing in current exoskeletons. The flexible power assistive exoskeleton is made of three springs that store energy from shoulder movements to provide assistance. It uses biomechanical models to simulate muscle forces. It is highly portable and comfortable, with only 83.29 g weight. A theoretical model was established to address the relationship between body work and output force. An evaluation system is proposed to assess the comfort effect of the assistive exoskeleton. Results show that the assistive exoskeleton can support all ranges of motion for the human upper limbs. It can offer up to 14.2% assistance. It also has a mass-to-assistance value of 120. For a comforting evaluation, its satisfaction rate reaches 93.4%. In summary, we present a highly flexible power-assisted exoskeleton with a large motion range, noticeable assistance effect, and high comfortability. This work contributes to the development of flexible assistive exoskeletons and comforting evaluation strategies for wearable devices.

Keywords

assisted exoskeletonhighly comfortdistribute energy storagehuman upper limb movement

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Type
Research Article
Information
Robotica , First View , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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