Leader: Giuseppe Carbone (UNICAL); Other collaborator(s): UNIPD, INRCA
This task addresses the methodologies and design of wearable robots for limb exercising at home, integrating interactive and telemonitoring features. The final goal is to provide inclusive, user-friendly, and cost-oriented solutions for three-dimensional exercising through the development and implementation of innovative wearable exoskeletons, including those utilizing parallel cable-driven architectures. These devices aim to monitor and assess the user’s daily activity and health parameters, helping predict and identify any illnesses or cognitive decline, with a focus on ease of operation. Several operation scenarios are to be proposed and validated, ensuring that the devices can effectively meet the needs of aging individuals.
From November 2023 to March 2024, efforts were directed towards a deeper exploration of the state of the art in wearable exoskeletons for upper limb rehabilitation. This included identifying key aspects that can be generalized into systematic design processes for upper-limb treatment devices. The team began analyzing the performance of various rehabilitation solutions and potential sensing techniques for monitoring health. As a result, several possible solutions for upper limb treatment were identified, and experimental setups for testing were prepared. The ongoing work also contributed to the preparation of papers that will disseminate the results of these activities, focusing on specific components of the human limb. Notably, a paper has been submitted for presentation at the Age-it General Meeting in Venice (20-22 May 2024). A journal review paper is under preparation.
Please see the next reporting period.
By June 2024, significant advancements were made in the design phase of the wearable upper-limb rehabilitation devices. The focus was on defining general procedures and an innovative mechanical architecture of the exoskeleton, including selecting key materials and components for a prototype. Concurrently, efforts were directed toward improving the device's monitoring features, ensuring that it could effectively track user progress and adapt to their needs. In addition, user studies were initiated to better understand the needs and challenges faced by elderly individuals when using wearable assistive devices at home. As part of dissemination efforts, a paper outlining the design and testing of the prototype has been submitted to an international journal, marking another step toward broadening the impact of the research. The team also continued preparing a detailed proposal for the cascade funding call, with the aim of obtaining a scaling up the project with a built prototype. These advancements contribute to the final goal of offering practical, user-friendly features.
The design and specification of parameters for an upper-limb exoskeleton have advanced. Key components for the prototype, as well as the associated test bench, have been identified. Additionally, technical details required for a cascade funding call—aligned with the activities of this milestone—have been finalized. Further dissemination activities have been planned. A visit to the team at University of Padua has been made to discuss further interactions and cooperations.
The planned cascade funding has started. Multiple meetings have been carried out with the contracted companies with the aim of implementing the planned specification of parameters for an upper-limb exosuit. In parallel, activities are ongoing for further progressing the ongoing research also through dissemination activities including the submission of 2 papers to the international conference I4SDG 2025 (International Conference for Sustainable Development Goals) where a dedicated track has been planned for the AGE-IT project.
Scientific publications