JSI-KneExo
JSI-KneExo – Hybrid Knee Exoskeleton with Adaptive Compliance

Wearable robots, such as exoskeletons, offer promising solutions for assisting human movement in rehabilitation, industry, and daily life. However, many current designs rely on external compressors or rigid power supplies, which limit their portability and adaptability. Can we develop an exoskeleton joint that is lightweight, self-contained, and capable of modulating stiffness to support dynamic human movement more naturally?
JSI-KneExo explores this question by developing a novel pneumatic knee exoskeleton joint with an integrated air tank and variable stiffness mechanism. Inspired by the balance between compliance and support in biological joints, the system is designed to operate in both active and quasi-passive modes. Its lightweight and self-sufficient design allows for untethered operation, making it suitable for overground walking, sit-to-stand transitions, and low-back strain reduction.
The project aims to advance both the mechanical design and control of hybrid pneumatic–electromechanical systems. By combining experimental testing, system modeling, and intelligent control strategies, JSI-KneExo contributes toward the next generation of energy-efficient, wearable robotic systems for lower-limb assistance.
Publications
Journal Articles
Hybrid Rigid-Soft and Pneumatic-Electromechanical Exoskeleton for Multi-Joint Lower Limb Assistance Journal Article
In: IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1180-1189, 2024.
Pneumatic Exoskeleton Joint With a Self-Supporting Air Tank and Stiffness Modulation: Design, Modeling, and Experimental Evaluation Journal Article
In: IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, vol. PP, pp. 1–12, 2024, ISSN: 1941014X.
Pneumatic quasi-passive variable stiffness mechanism for energy storage applications Journal Article
In: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, pp. 1-1, 2022.
Proceedings Articles
Modular quasi-passive mechanism for energy storage applications: towards lightweight high-performance exoskeleton Proceedings Article
In: 2021 20th International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR), pp. 588-593, 2021.
Partners

JSI Team
Petrič Tadej | 30885 | PI | 2022- |
Mišković Luka | 54681 | Junior Researcher | 2022- 2025 |
Brecelj Tilen | 37467 | Researcher | 2022- |
Founding source

ARRS grant no.: P2-0076