Development of a Clothing–Type Wearable Platform Focusing on Component Stability

The workload of transportation workers has increased along with the shift to an un-tact lifestyle due to COVID-19, and chronic health disorders of the musculoskeletal system have also been occurring in certain body parts. In the case of hard material robots, problems to be resolved have been identified by studies on performance evaluation such as the user’s gait and strength assistance or wearing comfort. The sensor and actuator embedded in clothes may change their locations according to a change in motion, and this can affect their functions causing sensing noises and weaken the delivered strengths to muscles. It is necessary to develop clothing platforms that can minimize the displacements of embedded sensors and actuators through evaluations. Thus, this study designed and developed prototypes to minimize the displacement of the sensor and actuator from the attachment part. Based on the results, four clothing-type wearable platform designs were developed using materials with a low deformation rate. A wearing evaluation experiment was filmed using a speed camera, and analyzed using the TimeViewer software program and SPSS 25.0. The analysis results of the experiment revealed that the change in the location of a point in the armhole showed a slight difference between designs. This study developed a final clothing-type wearable platform by applying the design with the least change in location and the most suitable design for each area. The results of this study can contribute to the development of wearable robots by establishing clothing design data that minimize the changes in sensor movement.