Stroke survivors often have difficulty with upper body movement, and rehabilitation at home can be challenging. Exoskeletons can be incredibly beneficial for ergonomic structural support in rehabilitation, but due to their size, cost, and complexity, they are only used in clinics. Rigid exoskeletons can also be challenging to customize and adapt to a user’s limbs.  

A research team from the Harvard Biodesign Lab has developed a new soft upper-limb robot that uses the user's skeletal structure as its frame, allowing for more natural and safer motion. The system leverages soft actuation techniques—like pneumatic or cable-driven mechanisms—that increase portability and ease of use. This can extend the robot's use to outside clinical environments and therapy at home.

This system does not require precise alignment, which makes setup quicker and operation easier than rigid systems. This flexibility can lead to increased patient engagement and the potential for more therapy time to be spent on motion rather than adapting the exoskeleton to the user, improving rehabilitation outcomes. It is also designed to adapt dynamically to user movements through sophisticated sensor integration and control systems. It uses inertial measurement units (IMUs) to estimate limb positions and adjust assistive forces in real-time, offering more personalized support.