From parcel delivery and nursing to rehabilitation: new fabric muscle provides strength assistance to desired body parts

-KIMM’s fabric muscle weaving technology transforms regular clothes into strength-assistantrobot suits-
-Comfortable and affordable wearable robots achieved by attaching fabric muscles to arms and thighs-

A new fabric muscle weaving technology has been developed to be utilized by wearable robots performing everyday tasks such as parcel delivery, nursing, and construction, and even rehabilitation training. The fabric muscle is soft and light like regular clothes, and can be conveniently attached to desired body parts to provide strength assistance.

Dr. Cheol-Hoon Park, principal researcher of the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics under the Advanced Manufacturing Systems Research Division at the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (President Sang Jin Park; KIMM), succeeded in developing a suit-type wearable robot powered by thin and light fabric muscle.

The research team created fabric muscle to develop a suit-type wearable robot that is as soft and light as Spider-Man’s suit, and capable of muscle-like behavior. First, coil springs were fabricated using shape-memory-alloy wires with a thickness of 40 ㎛, and then the fabric muscle was made by weaving it like fabric. The fabric muscle can be cut and folded like actual cloth, and conveniently provides strength assistance when attached on desired body parts.

A palm-sized piece of the shape-memory-alloy-based fabric muscle weighs only 6.6 g, which is about the weight of a paper cup. Similar to how our muscles contract and relax during movement, the fabric contracts and generates force when current is supplied. It can produce a force large enough to carry 10 kg, or 1,500 times of its own weight.

Principal researcher Cheol-Hoon Park said, “The fabric muscle weaving technique can be applied to not only wearable robots for delivery workers and care workers, but also to healthcare including home rehabilitation devices and massagers. It will significantly reduce manufacturing costs, and is expected to broaden the spectrum of industries, from robotics to fashion.”

rrently, the team filed applications for seven domestic patents and two PCT patents related to the technology. The study was supported under the Alchemist Project of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

[List of Attachments] (images and videos sent separately)
- Attachment 1: Fabric muscle weaved from thin string-like shape-memory-alloy springs (photo)
- Attachment 2: Fabric muscle providing strength assistance to a mannequin (photo)
- Attachment 3: Suit-type wearable robot powered by fabric muscle (photo)
- Attachment 4: Demonstration of characteristics of weaved fabric muscle (video)
- Attachment 5: Demonstration of fabric muscle (video)
- Attachment 6: Status of patents

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) is a non-profit governmentfunded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Since its foundation in 1976, KIMM is contributing to economic growth of the nation by performing R&D on key technologies in machinery and materials, conducting reliability test evaluation, and commercializing the developed products and technologies.

The research was supported under the Alchemist Project of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, conducted by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM).

Credit : The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM)
Usage Restrictions of Multimedia (Attachment File) : The sources of photos and research results from KIMM must be specified.

-Attachment 1: Fabric muscle weaved from thin string-like shape-memory-alloysprings (photo)

Photo description: Fabric muscle developed by the research team led by Dr. Cheol-Hoon Park of KIMM. Shape-memory-alloy springs were weaved in the same method as fabric, and the resulting light and soft fabric muscle is capable of carrying up to 1,500 times of its own weight.

-Attachment 2: Fabric muscle providing strengthassistance to a mannequin (photo)

Photo description: Dr. Cheol-Hoon Park’s team gives a demonstration of the fabric muscle providing strength assistance to a mannequin. The force generated by the fabric muscle allows the mannequin to stand (left) and carry heavy objects (right). Similarly, the fabric muscle can be attached to body parts requiring strength assistance

-Attachment 3: Suit-type wearable robot powered by fabric muscle (photos)

Photo description: The fabric muscle developed by Dr. Cheol-Hoon Park’s team transforms regular pants into a suit-type wearable robot. The fabric muscle can be attached to desired body parts for use as “wearable muscles.”

Photo description: Applications of the fabric muscle developed by Dr. Cheol-Hoon Park’s team. The fabric muscle can be used to assist wearers in sitting and standing, climbing stairs, and rehabilitation training involving repetitive movement of arms and legs.

- Attachment 4: Demonstration of characteristics of weaved fabric muscle (video)
- Attachment 5: Demonstration of fabric muscle (video)
- Attachment 6: Status of patents (table)