Soft robot suits: Revolution of mobility for older people!

Soft robot suits: Revolution of mobility for older people!

Weimar, Deutschland - On September 19, 2025, the Centrum Weimarhalle in Weimar will be the scene of the keynote of Dr.-Ing. Enrica tricomi, a postdoctoral at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Her presentation at the annual congress of the German Society for Geriatrics (DGG) will deal intensively with an exciting topic: soft robot suits that are supposed to support the elderly when walking, climbing stairs and getting up. According to ÖKONEWS , the lecture will illuminate the promising possible uses of these technologies.

The research team around Professor Lorenzo Masia has made impressive progress. The so -called Soft Robotic shorts are light, textile -based and hardly notice in everyday life. Your goal is to offer gentle support without restricting the natural movement of the users. An intelligent control system based on machine learning and computer vision, recognizes and analyzes movement patterns in real time. This is particularly important because more and more older people are fighting with mobility restrictions and thereby suffering from the quality of life and autonomy.

The technology behind it

It should be emphasized that the Soft Robotic shorts were specially developed in order to prevent the loss of muscle strength preventive. Initial studies already show promising results: reduced physical exertion, high comfort and control that gives users a safe feeling. With a focus on improving the quality of life of older people, there is great potential for use in rehabilitation medicine, such as Nature reported.

As part of the technological testing, the Walkon system is tested, which offers individual independent leg support. With different upcomes, around 12 young adults and 10 older adults have participated in studies that checked the effectiveness of the system on both climbs and on levels. The aim of these tests is to reduce the metabolic load while walking and increase the quality of life of the users, as well as the article on PMC illustrated.

an outlook on the future

These developments are not only a step in the right direction for older people, but also an answer to the growing global challenge of pension. The World Health Organization estimates that around 2 billion people will be dependent on assistive devices by 2050. The need is great, while only 10% of these people have access to suitable technical aids.

The combination of engineering and application -oriented computer science, such as the team around Dr. Tricomi operates, the key to an independent lifestyle in old age could be. Numerous awards already underline the importance of their research, including the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society 2024 Distinguished Student Leadership Award.