A wearable textile-based pneumatic energy harvesting system for assistive robotics

Wearable assistive, rehabilitative, and augmentative devices currently require bulky power supplies, often making these tools more of a burden than an asset. This work introduces a soft, low-profile, textile-based pneumatic energy harvesting system that extracts power directly from the foot strike o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science advances 2022-08, Vol.8 (34), p.eabo2418-eabo2418
Main Authors: Shveda, Rachel A, Rajappan, Anoop, Yap, Te Faye, Liu, Zhen, Bell, Marquise D, Jumet, Barclay, Sanchez, Vanessa, Preston, Daniel J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Engineering
Physical and Materials Sciences
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Summary:Wearable assistive, rehabilitative, and augmentative devices currently require bulky power supplies, often making these tools more of a burden than an asset. This work introduces a soft, low-profile, textile-based pneumatic energy harvesting system that extracts power directly from the foot strike of a user during walking. Energy is harvested with a textile pump integrated into the insole of the user's shoe and stored in a wearable textile bladder to operate pneumatic actuators on demand, with system performance optimized based on a mechano-fluidic model. The system recovered a maximum average power of nearly 3 W with over 20% conversion efficiency-outperforming electromagnetic, piezoelectric, and triboelectric alternatives-and was used to power a wearable arm-lift device that assists shoulder motion and a supernumerary robotic arm, demonstrating its capability as a lightweight, low-cost, and comfortable solution to support adults with upper body functional limitations in activities of daily living.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abo2418