On 01/01/2018 the Exo4Work project has officially started as a collaboration between research teams from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the KU Leuven.
Exoskeletons are the ultimate expression of Human-Robot Collaboration. After focussing mainly on medical applications, these devices are now also being used on the factory floors. Here, they are the perfect solution merging human dexterity, agility and creativity with the robot’s strength and endurance.
Exoskeletons are the perfect marriage between the strengths of a robot and the strengths of humans
Given the large need for such devices, two VUB BruBotics research teams (R&MM and MFYS) together with two research groups from KU Leuven (PMA and FABER) have started to collaborate on the Exo4Work project.The main goal of the project is to create the necessary building blocks in terms of hard and software to create next-generation passive and active exoskeletons, and to have these validated by movement scientists.
The project started on 01/01/2018 and will continue to run until 31/12/2018. Exo4Work is entirely funded as an SBO project (Strategic Basic Research) by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) of the Flemish Government. The project is being led by Prof. Dr. Dirk Lefeber and Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Guerrero (R&MM-VUB), and with co-promotors Prof. Dr. Joris De Schutter (KUL – PMA), Prof. Dr. Romain Meeusen (MFYS – VUB) and Prof. Dr. Ilse Jonkers (FABER – KUL).
Seventeen industrial partners will form the Industrial User Group to bring an end-user perspective into the development as from the very start.