In-depth Analysis of the Development History and Technological Status of Exoskeleton Robots
**I. The Development and Scenarios of Exoskeleton Robots**
The definition of exoskeleton actually originated from animals at first, that is, the external skeleton. These external skeletons are generally used to support and protect animals. In contrast, humans are creatures with "endoskeletons". Therefore, exoskeleton robots generally refer to wearable electromechanical devices that can protect themselves and enhance human capabilities. From a single wearable electronic product, it gradually formed a cross-border integration of electronics, machinery, and bionics, forming a unique cutting-edge technology for the future. In the field of application, it has also developed and derived to include wearable devices that can enhance (assist in rehabilitation) for the disabled, mainly used to assist patients in gait rehabilitation training. Therefore, currently, exoskeleton robots are generally divided into enhanced exoskeletons and rehabilitation exoskeletons in terms of function.
The idea of exoskeleton robots can be traced back to 1890, when a Russian named Nicholas Yagan invented a kind of exoskeleton system powered by compressed air bags; in 1917, an American inventor developed an exoskeleton robot powered by steam; in 1960, the earliest exoskeleton project emerged, which originated from the enhanced military armor of the US military. At the same time, researchers at Cornell University also began to study the concept of human enhancement. Subsequently, exoskeleton robots soon began to be developed, and most of the identifiable problems in this field were quickly identified. In 1970, the Hardman system designed by General Electric contained more than 30 joints and could lift a weight of 1,500 pounds, demonstrating the huge potential of exoskeleton technology.
From research and development to application, exoskeleton robots have gone through more than a hundred years. Exoskeleton robots have also begun to be sporadically applied in medical, industrial, logistics and other fields from the initial military field, including Ekso Labs, Barrett Medical in the United States, Rewalk in Israel, Rex Blonics Limited in the United Kingdom, CyberDyne in Japan, and Panasonic's exoskeleton robots are all enterprises in the leading position in the industry.
In the development history of exoskeleton robots abroad, Panasonic first disclosed its application project of exoskeleton robots in the industrial field in 2014. At that time, in order to allow ordinary workers to easily carry heavy objects weighing 15 kilograms and move around, Panasonic first made a lightweight version of the exoskeleton bracket, and later supported it with carbon fiber materials in the areas of the back, thighs, calves and feet, combined with a power motor that could be awakened by sensors, and finally achieved the ability to easily help people carry 15 kilograms of work. In addition, Ekso Bionics and suitX in the United States have successively launched their own industrial exoskeleton robots. Among them, the upper extremity exoskeleton robot EksoVest of Ekso Bionics Company has already been applied to the top operation of the Ford automobile assembly line.
Relatively speaking, this track in China started relatively late, but it has developed vigorously, especially in the rehabilitation exoskeleton robot track, and many start-up enterprises have emerged, including Maibu Robot, Big Ai, Ruihan Medical, Screaming Technology, Jinhe, Fourier Intelligence, etc. They are all star enterprises in this field in recent years. Among these enterprises, in terms of financing, they have generally completed the Pre-A round of financing in 2017-2018.
Industrial exoskeleton robots have also emerged as needed in China, including applications in the fields of automotive assembly and logistics. Relevant enterprises of industrial exoskeleton robots in China have also begun to forge ahead. For example, the MAPS industrial upper extremity exoskeleton robot of Aosha Intelligence was reported in 2019 that it has been tested in Chery Automobile, Yutong Bus, Beijing Benz and Geely Automobile factories. Start-up enterprises in the field of logistics exoskeleton robots such as Iron Man Boxing also officially launched its first general-purpose logistics exoskeleton robot in 2019, and has cooperative applications with JD.com, Deppon and Schneider on logistics exoskeleton robots, and will continue to deeply develop exoskeleton robots for industrial and construction scene applications in the future.
**II. The Technology and Current Status of Exoskeleton Robots**
An exoskeleton robot generally includes three parts: the overall machine design, the driver (mechanism) design, and the control strategy. The most difficult point of the exoskeleton robot is to achieve real-time human-machine interaction and control. The overall working principle of interaction is generally: the first step is to perceive the human behavioral intention, which is generally a combination of gyroscope + accelerometer + electromyogram signals, etc.; the second step is to achieve the driving method, such as using advanced behavior driving; the third step is generally to judge the external environment through laser + ultrasound perception.
At present, there are two ways for robots to obtain human intentions: directly obtaining the operator's intention and indirectly obtaining the operator's intention. The methods of directly obtaining the operator's intention include from EMG data or the interaction force between humans and robots. The indirect methods are to obtain data from the exoskeleton joints, estimate the operator's intention and then amplify the movement effect. The Neuralink company founded by Musk, which is committed to connecting the human brain and the computer, is one way to strengthen this connection.
For the moment, exoskeleton robots still have a lot of imagination space and there are options close to consumer-grade products. From a technical perspective, the research and development threshold of rehabilitation exoskeleton robots is relatively low, and at the same time, it belongs to Class II medical devices, and the registration threshold is relatively low; the limited technical performance of walking-assistance exoskeleton robots has been continuously broken through; the technical research and development threshold of surgical robots is relatively high, and it belongs to Class III medical devices. The registration threshold and cycle in China are very long. Therefore, it is not surprising that exoskeleton robots have exploded in China.
In terms of cutting-edge technology, at this stage, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Imperial College London, and the University of Melbourne are all conducting research on electroencephalogram, while the Hong Kong Polytechnic University focuses on the research combining transcranial magnetic stimulation and exoskeleton robots. These are all very cutting-edge directions in the field of neural rehabilitation and robot rehabilitation in the world at present. Nevertheless, China's rehabilitation medical industry is still in the early stage of development. Even for some exoskeleton robots that have obtained various medical certifications, more enterprises still devote most of their energy to the research and development of medical exoskeleton robots. The truly commercially applied products are mainly in joint rehabilitation equipment, such as the lower extremity rehabilitation training exoskeleton robot of Maibu Robot, the hand rehabilitation exoskeleton robot, and the wrist and ankle rehabilitation equipment of Fourier.
There were mainly the following problems that plagued exoskeleton robots in the early stage. The first problem was the energy problem. Early exoskeleton robots were inseparable from external energy. The drive through internal combustion engines and cables was once a problem that hindered the development of robots, which had an impact on the weight and sustainability of robots. The second problem lies in control technology. Control technology enables robots to achieve efficient control and multi-dimensional free control precisely throughout the entire process, and to keep up with various changes in humans. If there is no perception ability of various movement trends of the human body, and to provide assistance and action support to people, the exoskeleton robot will instead become a burden.
Nowadays, with the maturity of lithium batteries, fuel cells and other efficient energy sources, some exoskeleton robots have begun to solve the energy and control problems well, and there have been many single-function exoskeleton robot branches, including the forms of braces, gloves, fingers, shorts, knee pads, etc., and the application purposes have also derived to industrial, medical, civilian and military fields.
**III. Conclusion**
At present, in terms of the market of exoskeleton robots, because there is competition in the industrial market and mature products such as industrial robots, the most likely market for exoskeleton robots is still in the medical scene. The first market is the irreversible damage market, mainly targeting people with mobility impairments caused by muscle, bone, nerve, soft tissue damage and aging. There are about 90 million people in this 2C group. It is of great significance to enable people with physical disabilities to stand up. The second market is the reversible rehabilitation market, mainly for the temporary muscle atrophy and intelligent rehabilitation population caused by bed rest treatment due to surgical reasons. There are about 25 million circulating people and institutions cooperating to establish channels every year.
In the future, the main market for exoskeleton robots must still be the consumer market, such as for light applications such as outdoor walking, hiking, mountain climbing, climbing, etc., and produce products in the form of individual components suitable for knees, thighs, shoes, arms, etc. There are no definite parameters for this part of the market, but the space is very huge.
It is hoped that in the near future, with the conquest of materials and other issues, the price of exoskeleton robots will continue to decline, and finally reach the level of tens of thousands or even thousands of yuan. At this time, the market will undoubtedly usher in a huge breakthrough. And if exoskeleton robots can be sold as universal clothing, perhaps human exploration of the unknown universe will no longer be a distant dream.
**Declaration**: This article is excerpted from the Internet, slightly abridged, and the copyright belongs to the original work. If it infringes, it will be deleted.
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