Wearable robots should be comfortable; however, there is lack of research on wear comfort for wearable robots has been conducted. This study aimed to evaluate the comfort of wearable soft robot platforms designed for walking assistance. We proposed clothing-based wearable robot platforms that prioritized wearer comfort to contribute to the advancement of a more human-centered wearable robot. Two designs, Design 1 (pant-type) and Design 2 (suit-type), were used to analyze the comfort of wearing the developed wearable robot platforms for gait assistance, using electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements and post-wear satisfaction evaluation. Design 2 revealed more comfort data than Design 1 when walking; thus, enhancing people's satisfaction. The findings can contribute to the development of comfortable soft wearable robots, thereby enabling people to walk without difficulty in their daily lives.
This work was supported in part by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea through Korea Health Technology R&D Project under Grant HK23C0057 and in part by the National Research Foundation ofKorea (NRF) funded by theKorean Government (MSIT, Ministry of Science and ICT) under Grant NRF-2021R1C1C1011872.Manuscript received: April, 12, 2024; Revised June, 13, 2024; Accepted July, 3, 2024. This paper was recommended for publication by Editor Yong-Lae Park upon evaluation of the Associate Editor and Reviewers\u2019 comments. [Note that the Editor is the Senior Editor who communicated the decision; this is not necessarily the same as the Editor-in-Chief.] This research was supported by grants of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (No. HK23C0057) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korean Government (MSIT; Ministry of Science and ICT) (No. NRF-2021R1C1C1011872).
