840 grams: that's how much the wearable robot weighs that is helping patients with muscle weakness regain mobility at Seoul National University Hospital. By comparison, a winter jacket weighs more. The system developed by Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) uses artificial muscles woven from 25-micrometer shape-memory alloys, thinner than a human hair.
The robot, once worn, assists the elbow, shoulder, and waist, reducing strain by 40% during repetitive tasks. It's essentially a textile exoskeleton. It's not a prototype: it's in automated production. Wearable robotics has just made the leap from research to the market.
How textile muscles work
The principle is not difficult to explain, but to implement. shape memory alloys (SMA, Shape Memory Alloy) are materials that change structure when heated: they return to their original shape by contracting. This effect has been known for decades, used in flexible glasses and medical stents. The problem has always been how to integrate it into complex systems without making them rigid, heavy, or noisy.
The team led by the researcher Cheol Hoon Park He solved the problem by replacing the metal core of the SMA wires with natural fiber. The result: 25-micrometer filaments that can be woven continuously like wool. The automated loom weaves them into fabrics that maintain flexibility and lightness, yet develop strength when needed. Data published in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering show that 10 grams of this tissue lift loads between 10 and 15 kilograms.
Continuous production represents the real leap. Previous prototypes used slow, expensive, artisanal processes. KIMM's automated system knits the artificial muscles in a stable and uniform manner, paving the way for the industrial production of wearable robots. We're no longer talking about laboratories, but assembly lines.
Wearable robot, clinical trials work
The numbers from clinical trials are what count. Seoul National University Hospital They tested the wearable robot on patients with muscle weakness, including cases of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The shoulder-assisting device improved shoulder range of motion by over 57%. It's not a marginal improvement, It's the difference between being able to dress yourself or not.
The complete model (weighing less than 2 kilograms) simultaneously supports the elbow, shoulder, and waist. In repetitive task tests, reduced muscle effort by 40%. This means that Workers in logistics, construction, or healthcare could wear it all day without feeling weighed down.
Why Traditional Exoskeletons Fail
Conventional exoskeletons rely on electric motors or pneumatic actuators. They make noise, are heavy, and require large batteries or compressors. Wearers feel like cyborgs, not ordinary people on their way to work. The rigidity of the structure limits natural movement. After a couple of hours, they become uncomfortable.
The textile muscles go in the diametrically opposite direction. They are silent because they have no moving mechanical parts. They are light because the actuator is the fabric itself. They are flexible Because they follow the contours of the body, they can be distributed evenly across the areas to be assisted, just like real muscles. Control occurs through precise movements that don't add weight.
Applications beyond medicine
Rehabilitation is just the beginning. KIMM is already looking at logistics, construction, and eldercare. Italian researchers had developed pneumatic artificial muscles with impressive strength-to-weight ratios, but still constrained by external compressors. SMA fabrics eliminate this constraint.
Imagine construction workers who wear 2kg robots under their overalls, reducing fatigue during eight-hour shifts. Or nurses who lift patients without straining their backs. Oh elders that maintain autonomy in daily activities without appearing "robotized." The key is invisibility. The more technology “disappears” from sight, the more acceptable it becomes.
Il Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials won the 2024 KIMM Best Research Award for this project. Funding comes from the government's Core Robot Technology Development program and the Seoul National University Hospital Lee Kun-hee Child Cancer and Rare Disease Project. This isn't a waste of money: commercialization is the stated goal.
Wearable robots: how far is the market from now?
Automated production is operational. Clinical trials show efficacy. Large-scale distribution is lacking. but that's a matter of months, not years. Park's team has declared its intention to dominate the global wearable robotics market accelerate marketing by focusing on the quality and reliability of the production system.
Competition is fierce. Companies like Agility Robotics (with the Digit robot for Amazon) and Chinese startups like Agibot They're pushing forward with humanoids. But the lightweight wearables sector is still open. Whoever comes in first with a product that costs less than $5.000 and weighs less than 2 kg wins.
Wearable robots are no longer a thing of the past. They're in production today, being tested on real people with real problems. One day, we won't even notice they're on us, hidden under a regular jacket.
