ArticleScientific reports2022
Reducing the energy cost of walking with low assistance levels through optimized hip flexion assistance from a soft exosuit.
Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Embedded Adaptive Admittance Control for a Modular Hip Exoskeleton Using Deep Learning-Based Gait-Phase Estimation.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- An Underactuated Hip Exoskeleton to Assist Hip Joints Driven by a Single-Series Elastic Actuator.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Enhancing sit-to-stand transitions and walking efficiency in older adults with a soft robotic suit.Nature communications · 2026Article
- User preference-based human-in-the-loop tuning of exoskeleton assistance during walking.npj biomedical innovations · 2026Article
- Exoskeleton frontal and sagittal plane hip torque improves propulsion and transient stability during walking in individuals with hemiparesis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Optimization of Exoskeleton Assistance Function Based on Physics-Guided Dynamic Fusion Model.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Portable hip exoskeleton improves walking economy for stroke survivors.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Interaction-based rapid heuristic optimization of exoskeleton assistance during walking.Communications engineering · 2025Article
- Optimization of Actuator Stiffness and Actuation Timing of a Passive Ankle Exoskeleton: A Case Study Using a Musculoskeletal Modeling Approach.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- EMG-Based Simulation for Optimization of Human-in-the-Loop Control in Simple Robotic Walking Assistance.Journal of sensor and actuator networks · 2025Article
- Fabrication of Soft Robotics by Additive Manufacturing: From Materials to Applications.Chemical reviews · 2025Review
- Effects of Passive Hip Flexion and Extension Assistance in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease and Healthy Individuals.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Biomechanics-Informed Mechatronics Design of Comfort-Centered Portable Hip Exoskeleton: Actuator, Wearable Interface, Controller.IEEE transactions on medical robotics and bionics · 2025Article
- Ultra-lightweight robotic hip exoskeleton with anti-phase torque symmetry for enhanced walking efficiency.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Online Adaptation Framework Enables Personalization of Exoskeleton Assistance During Locomotion in Patients Affected by Stroke.IEEE transactions on robotics : a publication of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society · 2025Article
- Effect of a soft wearable robot suit with hip extensor assistance on gait in patients with Parkinson's disease: a study protocol.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Insights into muscle metabolic energetics: Modelling muscle-tendon mechanics and metabolic rates during walking across speeds.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Springs vs. motors: Ideal assistance in the lower limbs during walking at different speeds.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- A Novel Personalized Strategy for Hip Joint Flexion Assistance Based on Human Physiological State.Biosensors · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
As we age, humans see natural decreases in muscle force and power which leads to a slower, less efficient gait. Improving mobility for both healthy individuals and those with muscle impairments/weakness has been a goal for exoskeleton designers for decades. In this work, we discover that significant reductions in the energy cost required for walking can be achieved with almost 50% less mechanical power compared to the state of the art. This was achieved by leveraging human-in-the-loop optimization to understand the importance of individualized assistance for hip flexion, a relatively unexplored joint motion. Specifically, we show that a tethered hip flexion exosuit can reduce the metabolic rate of walking by up to 15.2 ± 2.6%, compared to locomotion with assistance turned off (equivalent to 14.8% reduction compared to not wearing the exosuit). This large metabolic reduction was achieved with surprisingly low assistance magnitudes (average of 89 N, ~ 24% of normal hip flexion torque). Furthermore, the ratio of metabolic reduction to the positive exosuit power delivered was 1.8 times higher than ratios previously found for hip extension and ankle plantarflexion. These findings motivated the design of a lightweight (2.31 kg) and portable hip flexion assisting exosuit, that demonstrated a 7.2 ± 2.9% metabolic reduction compared to walking without the exosuit. The high ratio of metabolic reduction to exosuit power measured in this study supports previous simulation findings and provides compelling evidence that hip flexion may be an efficient joint motion to target when considering how to create practical and lightweight wearable robots to support improved mobility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.