Keynote
In person
LeadersGoldDiscovery

Auctions, preferences, and wearable robots: The development of meaningful exoskeletons and robotic prostheses

  • Date
    7 July 2026
    Timeframe
    10:00 - 10:30
    Duration
    30 minutes
    • Days
      Hours
      Min
      Sec

    Lower-limb wearable robots, including exoskeletons and robotic prostheses, hold tremendous promise for improving mobility, independence, and quality of life. Yet despite decades of innovation, these technologies have not achieved the broad societal impact many anticipated. A key reason is a fundamental gap in understanding how and why these systems should assist their wearers in real-world conditions. Wearable robots are often designed around a single, narrowly defined objective, such as minimizing the energetic cost of walking, while the full spectrum of user experience remains largely overlooked. This session will introduce the field of wearable robot development and present a human-centered framework for guiding the design and control of these technologies. Drawing on a series of research examples, it will show how placing the user at the center of development can lead to exciting and unexpected discoveries. The session will present variable-stiffness prostheses and exoskeletons that have yielded new insights into optimal device design, highlight the Open-Source Leg platform through a live onstage demonstration, and describe exoskeleton controllers that adapt automatically to real-time user feedback. Finally, it will examine how behavioral economics can reframe the measurement of success in wearable robotics, advocating a shift toward technologies that truly serve the people who need them most.

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