Wearing Experience and Styling Design of Intelligent Walking-assist Exoskeleton for Elderly Users

SHENG Chuanxin; LU Guangpu; WANG Huajun; WANG Zefeng

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.14.055

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (14) : 642-651. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.14.055

Intelligent Design Innovation: Research on the Design of Elderly-friendly Smart Products from the Perspective of Digital Inclusion

Wearing Experience and Styling Design of Intelligent Walking-assist Exoskeleton for Elderly Users

SHENG Chuanxin, LU Guangpu^*, WANG Huajun, WANG Zefeng

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Abstract

The work aims to explore design approaches that enhance wearing experience, functional efficacy, and aesthetic acceptance of exoskeletons, thereby promoting their effective application in elderly mobility assistance and rehabilitation to address the issues of inconvenient wearing, low human-machine compatibility, and insufficient psychological acceptance in existing walking-assist exoskeletons for elderly users. Firstly, based on literature review and analysis of typical product cases, combined with physiological characteristic data of elderly users, design requirements regarding wearing convenience, structural safety, and morphological affinity were extracted. Secondly, at the technical level, cam-driven mechanisms and modular lightweight materials were adopted to improve mechanical efficiency; at the design level, the ergonomics theory and styling semantics methods were comprehensively applied to innovate in the layout of supporting structures, fastening methods, and external morphology. Finally, wearing simulation and gait analysis experiments were conducted using ADAMS virtual simulation software. A novel exoskeleton design scheme balancing functional efficacy and aesthetic preferences was proposed. The optimized wearing structure reduced operational difficulty and improved contact comfort; the user-friendly styling language enhanced the product's visual acceptance. In conclusion, the design of intelligent walking-assist exoskeletons for elderly users should deeply integrate highly applicable mechanical structures with user-friendly styling language. Through interdisciplinary design approaches, walking-assist products with effective physiological adaptation and high psychological acceptance can be developed, providing design solutions that combine technical feasibility and humanistic care to address mobility assistance needs in an aging society.

Key words

elderly users / walking-assist exoskeleton / wearing experience / styling design / ergonomics

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SHENG Chuanxin, LU Guangpu, WANG Huajun, WANG Zefeng. Wearing Experience and Styling Design of Intelligent Walking-assist Exoskeleton for Elderly Users[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2026, 47(14): 642-651 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.14.055

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