Deadline Date: 14 February 2021. 

Please submit your research article, review article or position paper through manuscript central and select the “Wearable Robots for Augmentation, Assistance or Substitution of Human Motor Functions” special issue.

Wearable Robots for Augmentation, Assistance or Substitution of Human Motor Functions - COST Action Wearable Robots

The COST Action CA16116 - “Wearable Robots for Augmentation, Assistance or Substitution of Human Motor Functions” is organizing this Special Issue to celebrate its collaborative research efforts in the field of Wearable Robots by creating a paper collection to highlight achievements, state of the art and open challenges in the field of Wearable Robots, based on high-profile contributions from inside and outside of the Action’s network of researchers.

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is a funding organisation for the creation of research networks, called COST Actions. These networks offer an open space for collaboration among scientists across Europe (and beyond) and thereby give impetus to research advancements and innovation.

The COST Action 16116 was initiated 15 March 2017, and runs until 14 September 2021. Its core objective has been to integrate and develop diverse expertise and trans-domain competencies essential to the creation of a new generation of Wearable Robots, characterized by better adjustment to human users as well as to specific domains of application, thus allowing it to become a mainstream technology with potential for greatly expanded socio-economic impact. The Action is organised around six Working Groups:

WG1: Foundational Science

WG2: Key Enabling Technologies and Tools

WG3: Application Domains

WG4: Ethical, Legal and Societal Aspects

WG5: Education and Dissemination

WG6: Cross working group topics

In this Special Issue we welcome relevant contributions from inside and outside the COST Action network, that relate to the mission stated above and addressing, but are not limited to, the themes listed below. We primarily, but not exclusively, invite review and position/perspective papers, evaluating the state of the art and prospects of the field.

All submitted abstracts and papers will be rigorously reviewed and the selection of papers will be based on their originality, timeliness, significance and relevance to the scope of the special issue. Submitted papers should not be under consideration for publication anywhere else.

Theme Topics

Modeling, design and control of wearable robots

Physical interaction paradigms for wearable robotics

Enabling technologies for wearable robots (such as actuators, sensors, interfaces)

Neuro-interface orthotic and prosthetic devices

Assessment, benchmarking and validation techniques and testing methods for safety and performance of wearable robots

Applications of wearable robots

Ethical, Legal and Societal Aspects (ELSA), including standardization and regulatory topics related to wearable robots

Education on wearable robotics

Guest Editors

Jan Veneman, MC chair of COST Action, 16116, Hocoma AG, Volketswil, Switzerland 

Email: jan.veneman.cost@gmail.com

Professor Samer Mohammed, University of Paris Est Créteil, France 
Email: samer.mohammed@u-pec.fr

Danijela Ristic-Durrant, Institute of Automation, University of Bremen, Germany 

Assistant Professor Simona Crea, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy