Texoskeletons: developing the fundamental technologies for creating intelligent soft robotic clothing with integrated 1D sensors and actuators

Traditional wearable exoskeletons rely on rigid structures, which limit comfort, flexibility, and everyday usability. This work introduces the fundamental technologies to create the first soft, lightweight, intelligent textile-based exoskeletons (Texoskeletons) built using 1D sensors and actuators. This new approach ensures that the textiles maintain most of its conformability and allows the devices to be positioned anywhere on the body. Two different structural architectures of pneumatic 1D actuators are evaluated: single-material and two-material actuators. The two-material actuators display intrinsic bending behavior and perform better when positioned within knitted textiles, while single-material actuators deliver superior lifting performance. When three of these actuators are grouped within the textile, they lift loads exceeding 300 g. Additionally, the Texoskeleton comprises of novel 1D triboelectric sensors to capture user movements. After training a machine learning algorithm, the 1D triboelectric sensors classify wrist flexion–extension, ulnar–radial deviation, supination, and pronation with an accuracy of 85.71%. A wrist-worn prototype Texoskeleton sleeve incorporating 14 actuators and 4 sensors is created to demonstrate the device's lightweight and wearability. This technology has the potential to revolutionize personalized rehabilitation, immersive training, and human–machine interaction, paving the way for intelligent everyday clothing that adapts to user movements and needs in real-time.