Design Challenges and Principles of Hustar Footwear Exoskeleton

Abstract

The current information society has been reported to have begun in 1976 and has included five different stages of development, from inception to globalization (Nevalainen 1999). Current society is in a new phase of transition, where applications of digitalization such as artificial intelligence and human-centered robotics are becoming a relevant part of every person’s life in working life, school and leisure. There are already concepts for the future society called 5.0 (Sato & Arimoto 2015) where researchers have considered what issues may change and how changes may happen (Cabinet Office 2019).Wearable intelligence can be defined broadly but it combines textiles and technology and includes sensors (traditional, bacteria-based, etc.), software applications, intelligent textile materials (phase change polymers, textiles), smart design (mass customization, value-based design, etc.) and services (platform economy). The products of wearable intelligence can be wearable sensors, smart textiles and shoes, exoskeleton robots, and fabrics, which are smart and connected to sensor networks and services (AI cloud). Currently, the market expects that researchers would develop efficient, lightweight and reliable exoskeleton robots that make use of high-speed 5G mobile networks and AI. However, the greatest part of the developed exoskeletons is for upper body and they are made from traditional materials and with traditional approaches which emphasize technical issues.The aim of the study was to plan a new approach for designing footwear exoskeleton. The objective was to design a footwear exoskeleton design approach which takes into account smart textile materials, smart sensors, sustainable design, testing data and user expectations. We found that smart footwear exoskeleton design requires professionals from design and user experience, ICT and programming, material and textile technology, mechatronics and energy, and biomechanics domains. As conclusion the ecosystem of smart footwear exoskeleton robotics is still in novice stage and new design approaches are needed, especially now when Society 5.0 may increase demand for assistive technology.