How to Build EduExo, the Arduino-Powered Robotic Exoskeleton

By on May 27, 2017
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EduExo, now available on Kickstarter, is an attempt by robotics researcher Volker Bartenbach to bring this technology to the masses.

“Our goal is to make exoskeleton technology accessible. To achieve this, we are developing the EduExo robotic exoskeleton, an affordable STEM education kit for students, teachers, makers and hobbyists. The kit is designed as a DIY edutainment platform that introduces you to exoskeleton technology in an entertaining way.” Volker says

Based on an Arduino Uno, the device takes the form of an upper and lower arm cuff, along with a motor and force sensor to allow it to be used for haptic control.
The exoskeleton’s structure is 3D printable and users with access to a 3D printer can produce the parts themselves. Therefore, a maker edition is available for people who prefer doing everything themselves, or for a larger pledge, you can receive all the parts needed to build it.

EduExo kit contains the hardware that you need to build an elbow exoskeleton.
A detailed tutorial guides you through the different assembly steps, also providing background information on exoskeleton history, functionality and technology. At the end, you’ll be able to build and program your own robotic exoskeleton.

The main challenge of the project is to design exoskeleton hardware that is both cheap enough to be affordable for a high school student, but still complex enough to be an appropriate learning platform that teaches relevant and state of the art exoskeleton technology. EduExo, in my opinion, achieved its objective.

The EduExo recently won the Wearable Robotics Association Innovation Competition in April 2017.

About Luca Ruggeri

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