Soft robotic suits for augmentation of human performance

Soft wearable exosuits have been introduced in the last decade as possible candidates to overcome the limitations from devices using rigid structures: the exoskeletons.
Despite the Exosuits initially promised tangible improvements, yet their soft wearable architecture presents strong drawbacks, placing this technology more in a complementary position rather than on a higher step of the podium respect to their predecessors. During my speech I will introduce the progress from our research on soft wearable exosuits for assistance and augmentation, by presenting novel solutions on mechanical design, novel implementation of control strategies based on machine learning and artificial vision to master the exosuis´non-linear behaviours, improving flexibility and controlling such devices symbiotically. I will discuss in detail how using bio-signals by means of a realtime techniques based on musculoskeletal dynamics to provide a symbiotic interface between the exosuit and the user and introduce also our latest results in clinical applications and performance augmentation.