Exoskeletons in the context of soldiers: Current status and future research trends

Abstract

Modern military drills and conventional training, performed under all-weather conditions, impose exacting challenges on soldiers. This has motivated the development of exoskeleton robot systems, leveraging advanced technology and material innovation. These systems have demonstrated their effectiveness at assisting movement, enhancing protection, promoting rehabilitation, and providing comprehensive support to soldiers. This groundbreaking technology not only reduces a soldier’s physical exertion significantly but also effectively diminishes the risk of injury during training, infusing new vitality into the enhancement of military capabilities. Different types of exoskeleton robots differ in their focus. Lower-limb exoskeleton robots are designed to increase the soldier’s endurance. Upper-limb exoskeleton robots enhance strength. This paper provides a detailed explanation of the key technologies of various types of exoskeleton robots, covering their mechanical design, electromechanical transmission structures, sensors, and actuation methods. It also explores the diverse application scenarios of exoskeleton robots in the military field, systematically introducing their development trajectory, milestone achievements, and the cutting-edge technologies currently employed, as well as the challenges faced. The conclusion offers a prospective discussion of future development pathways, anticipating the broad prospects for exoskeleton robots in the military domain.

Keywords

Exoskeleton robot / Machinery / Bionics / Hybrid / Assistive devices

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Xinmeng Ma: Conceptualization. Lingfeng Lv: Writing - orig-inal draft. Weipeng Liu: Validation. Feng Niu: Supervision. Hai-hang Wang: Project administration. Haoyu Wang: Writing - review & editing. Libin Zhao: Methodology. Zihao Wang: Writing - review & editing. Zhipu Wang: Writing - review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (52405016), in part by the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF (GZC20230660), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (A2023202049), and the S&T Program of Hebei (24464401D).

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