NSF Award
2324343
This research will investigate strategies to quantify, evaluate, and improve physical accessibility of everyday clothing using minimalistic, garment-based assistive soft robotics. To this end, a collaborative effort brings together experts in apparel design, soft robotics, human-computer interaction/human factors, and rehabilitation to explore open questions both in design for accessibility and in garment-based robotics. The project will lay the groundwork for a large-scale study to pursue a future of universally accessible clothing that seamlessly blends everyday garments and soft robotics, and which accommodates users with a variety of abilities, limitations, needs, and objectives. Project outcomes will ultimately lead to new approaches to both evaluate and robotically customize/support body-garment interfaces for a wide range of wearable systems, from everyday clothing to robotic exoskeletons to orthoses/prostheses. <br/><br/>Project goals will be pursued through two specific thrusts: (1) Formulate a set of generalizable user-identified evaluation criteria / metrics for assessing accessibility of garments; (2) Design and implement a self-tightening / fastening "robotic belt" as a proof-of-concept prototype of a soft robotic "garment" to establish preliminary evidence of the feasibility and transformative potential of the approach. The novel garment accessibility evaluation metrics and soft-robotic technology proof-of-concept combined will set the stage for the development and deployment o several garment-based soft-robotic accessibility solutions and evaluation of their impact at improving accessibility of everyday clothing compared to existing passive accessibility solutions.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
