UKRI AI CDT in Dependable and Deployable AI for Robotics (CDT-D2AIR)

Elliot Lister

Project
A User-Centred Approach to the Design, Control, and Evaluation of Deployable Soft Wearable Robots

Summary
This research addresses the practical barriers limiting the real-world adoption of assistive wearable robotics. Focusing on textile-based lower-limb exosuits, with foot drop as a primary clinical application, the work centres on developing a data-driven computational pipeline to streamline personalised hardware design. This pipeline facilitates the creation of hybrid systems that integrate soft, textile-based actuators with Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). By combining these hybrid technologies with AI-driven adaptive control strategies and holistic evaluation frameworks, this research aims to transition assistive devices from structured laboratory settings into comfortable, discreet, and highly personalised systems capable of adapting to dynamic, everyday environments.

Lead Institution
School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh

Supervisor
Sethu Vijayakumar (University of Edinburgh)