There is a growing international interest in developing soft wearable robotic devices to improve mobility and daily life autonomy as well as for rehabilitation purposes. Usability, comfort and acceptance of such devices will affect their uptakes in mainstream daily life. The XoSoft EU project developed a modular soft lower-limb exoskeleton to assist people with low mobility impairments. This paper presents the bio-inspired design of a soft, modular exoskeleton for lower limb assistance based on pneumatic quasi-passive actuation. The design of a modular reconfigurable prototype and its performance are presented. This actuation centers on an active mechanical element to modulate the assistance generated by a traditional passive component, in this case an elastic belt. This study assesses the feasibility of this type of assistive device by evaluating the energetic outcomes on a healthy subject during a walking task. Human-exoskeleton interaction in relation to task-based biological power assistance and kinematics variations of the gait are evaluated. The resultant assistance, in terms of overall power ratio () between the exoskeleton and the assisted joint, was 26.6% for hip actuation, 9.3% for the knee and 12.6% for the ankle. The released maximum power supplied on each articulation, was 113.6% for the hip, 93.2% for the knee, and 150.8% for the ankle.

Objective This pilot study proposed and performs initial testing with Exoscore, a design evaluation tool to assess factors related to acceptance of exoskeleton by older adults, during the technology development and testing phases. Background As longevity increases and our aging population continues to grow, assistive technologies such as exosuits and exoskeletons can provide enhanced quality of life and independence. Exoscore is a design and prototype stage evaluation method to assess factors related to perceptions of the technology, the aim being to optimize technology acceptance. Method In this pilot study, we applied the three-phase Exoscore tool during testing with 11 older adults. The aims were to explore the feasibility and face validity of applying the design evaluation tool during user testing of a prototype soft lower limb exoskeleton. Results The Exoscore method is presented as part of an iterative design evaluation process. The method was applied during an exoskeleton research and development project. The data revealed the aspects of the concept design that rated favorably with the users and the aspects of the design that required more attention to improve their potential acceptance when deployed as finished products. Conclusion Exoscore was effectively applied to three phases of evaluation during a testing session of a soft exoskeleton. Future exoskeleton development can benefit from the application of this design evaluation tool. Application This study reveals how the introduction of Exoscore to exoskeleton development will be advantageous when assessing technology acceptance of exoskeletons by older adults.

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Research and education can be distinctly separate activities in institutions, where academics try to divide their time between the two roles. Many research initiatives necessitate large-scale funding to be completed. In response, this paper presents an alternate strategy in which educational design initiatives can promote academic research activities. The study looks at how a design-led entrepreneurial approach combines research and education to create marketable solutions. A literature review was undertaken to understand the disconnect between academic pedagogy, postgraduate, design-driven research and design entrepreneurship. An undergraduate Product Design degree course was also examined to understand the means through which innovative solutions are incubated. We then applied our findings to progress a final year project through master's level with a commercial focus to determine the viability of our approach. This study presents findings and lessons learned from a paradigm built inside a research cluster, in which viable design proposals are incubated as undergraduate final year projects (FYP) and then selected for postgraduate development with the goal of commercialization. A variety of difficulties and possibilities, as well as lessons learned, were recognized, including choosing the right topic to develop, forming partnerships with different disciplines, intellectual property, money, expertise, and resources. By bringing together the often-separate entities of research and education, this paper shows how research and educational activities are not mutually exclusive but can be combined to provide rich educational experiences along with meaningful research outputs.

The aim of this research was to pilot a multi-disciplinary approach to creative pedagogy through collaboration between students and faculty from performing arts and product design. Creative pedagogy of process is a pedagogical approach that draws on the interaction and engagement of faculty and students across a range of disciplines and involves ethnographic research methods combined with reflective practice and a user centred design approach. This approach develops transversal competencies, common across creative domains and provides a rich learning environment for students and faculty alike. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities presented by a collaboration of this nature. Both performing Arts and Product Design are studio-based disciplines and have clear commonalities and points of convergence. The impetus for this collaborative endeavour emerged from several discussions between faculty members relating to the importance of facilitating creativity in the third level studio. Lecturers in performance practice and product design noted similarities between pedagogical approaches in both realms to foster a learning environment where trial and error and process-based learning with reflexivity were key components. We shared common traits despite the perceived chasm between artistic and scientific research methods and output metrics. We progressed our enquiry through establishing undergraduate peer learning projects. We sought to identify the opportunities and challenges presented by this interdisciplinary collaboration.