Development of a Wearable Robot that Moves on the User's Arm to Provide Calming Interactions

Abstract

Wearable robots can maintain constant physical contact with the user and support its daily life. However, since most wearable robots are fixed on the user's body, the user has to be constantly aware of their presence. Sometimes this can impose a burden on the user and prevents them from wearing the robot daily. One solution to this problem is for the robot to move around the user's body. When the user does not interact with the robot, it can move to an unobtrusive position and attract less attention from the user. This research aims to actualize such a wearable robot. In addition, by introducing flexible rubber joints, we aim for creating calming interactions with the user wearing the robot. This short paper reports the development of our initial prototypes.