Movement is critical for human wellbeing. Therefore, developing robotic technologies that can preserve our ability of moving as we age or restore it following an injury is a key necessity. Wearable robots, such as exoskeletons and exosuits, are rapidly evolving from assistive tools into intelligent platforms that can influence human musculoskeltal health.

 

Recent advancements in wearable exoskeletons have demonstrated the ability to reduce metabolic cost and neuromechanical effort during locomotion. Emerging improvements in actuation, sensing, and form factor now enable lighter, softer systems—bringing us closer to devices that can be worn continuously and unobtrusively, much like a “second skin.” As these systems become integrated into daily life across rehabilitation, industrial, and occupational domains, a critical paradigm shift is needed. Rather than only assisting movement in the short term, next-generation wearable robots must interface with the human body over extended periods to influence long-term musculoskeletal adaptation.

 

This raises fundamental new questions: How do neuromuscular tissues respond to robot-induced mechanical stimuli? Can we harness these responses to restore neuromuscular function for movement ? Answering these questions requires bridging knowledge gaps at the intersection of biomechanics, neuromechanics, and robotics.

 

This talk will outline ongoing work aimed at addressing these questions. Specifically, the talk will outline how we can use bioelectrical recording and numerical modelling to decode the activity of spinal motor neurons and concurrently derive the resulting force and stiffness-generating musculoskeletal function in the intact moving human in vivo. The second part of the talk will outline how the proposed approach can be extended to develop robotic technologies that could assist and potentially reshape the human neuromuscular system via targeted electro-mechanical stimuli deliverered at extreme ends of the spatio-temporal scale, e.g., cell-to-organ growth over weeks. 

 

Over the next decade, this framework may transform wearable robots into proactive, adaptive tools for preventing chronic musculoskeletal conditions, promoting recovery, and maintaining physical independence—ultimately improving healthspan and quality of life.