Researchers develop wearable robotic exomuscle system

Marie Georgarakis demonstrates her Myoshirt exomuscle device. [Photo by Florian Haufe for ETH Zurich]

ETH Zurich researchers have redefined the muscle shirt.

Marie Georgarakis, a former doctoral student at ETH Zurich’s Sensory Motor Systems Lab, is the creator of the Myoshirt, a wearable, textile robotic device that helps users lift their arms and reach. A motorized cable works like an artificial tendon, directed by sensors and an algorithm to support the wearer’s intended movement.

ETH Zurich researchers recently tested Myoshirt on a dozen people — one person with muscular dystrophy, another with a spinal cord injury and ten people without physical impairment — and all reported longer endurance when lifting their arms.

The Myoshirt exomuscle device’s cable acts like a tendon. [Photo by Florian Haufe for ETH Zurich]

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