Human-friendly biomechanical energy harvesting vest for self-powered disability assistance functions

Hong-Xiang Zou, Nan Qin, Chong-Zao Gan, Ze-Wen Chen, Lin-Chuan Zhao, Qiu-Hua Gao, Ke-Xiang Wei, Guang Meng and Quan Bai

Energy, 2025, vol. 330, issue C

Abstract: Wearable assistive devices can facilitate the activities of disabled individuals, improve their quality of life and safety. At present, wearable assistive devices for disabled individuals are mainly powered by batteries. The depletion of battery power will cause wearable assistive devices to malfunction, potentially resulting in personal injury or death in special circumstances. A human-friendly biomechanical energy harvesting vest (HBEHV) using a wire-driven mechanism is designed to provide sustainable energy for the wearable assistive devices. The excitation can be flexibly applied to the generator through the wire-driven mechanism, allowing the generator to be integrated into the vest, just like wearing a shirt normally without significantly increasing the burden, and “remotely” excited by joint motion. Compared to previous joint driven energy harvesters, the proposed design avoids additional load on human joints, as well as being constrained and worn by rigid mechanical components. Based on HBEHV, self-powered obstacle detection and warning wearable device is developed for visually impaired individuals and self-powered sign language speaking wearable device is developed for language impaired individuals. HBEHV provides new ideas for sustainable power supply of wearable assistive devices for disabled individuals with athletic abilities.

Keywords: Energy harvesting; Self-powered disability assistance functions; Biomechanical energy harvesting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:330:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225025058

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.136863

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