Supernumerary Wearable Soft Manipulator with Modularized Origami Structures

In this study, a novel supernumerary wearable soft manipulator with soft actuator modules is proposed. The soft and lightweight manipulator can assist a wearer in directions from the shoulder or waist side. Specifically, the soft module used four Kresling-patterned origami cylinders and a tendon-driven method for actuation. The developed module exhibited high flexibility with a bending angle of approximately 90<FOR VERIFICATION>$^\circ$. Moreover, we built up a geometry-based modeling framework for the motion of the origami module. The model predicted the deformation of the origami module and was validated by comparing it with experimental results. Based on the model, kinematic analysis of the manipulator was also implemented. In addition, we demonstrated that the supernumerary wearable manipulator assisted a wearer as an application.