Making Robots Wearable: DPhil Student Showcases Research in Japan

DPhil candidate Michael Adlerstein has been working on creating soft wearable robots that can assist with movement and rehabilitation. He recently visited Japan with colleagues from the Engineering Science Department to showcase his project at the 2026 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Robosoft). Michael is part of RADlab, the Reconfigurable and Adaptive Designs Laboratory, founded by Pembroke Fellow in Engineering Science, Professor Antonio Forte. 

When two books are interleaved page by page, pulling them apart becomes unexpectedly difficult. The resistance comes from friction across many thin layers. This phenomenon, known as layer jamming, can be harnessed as a simple and effective mechanism for variable stiffness.

Michael, together with other members of RADlab, has been applying layer jamming to wearable robotics. By stacking thin acrylic sheets between custom-made pneumatic actuators (‘movement machines’), the team create structures that transition easily between flexible and rigid states. Left alone, the layers move freely, allowing bending and rotation. When pressure is applied, friction between the layers increases, restricting motion and effectively locking the structure in place.

While this approach has already been explored in the field of soft robotics, previous methods used a vacuum to change the state. Michael and his colleagues, however, have been developing a system that works with positive pressure, increasing the force output, expanding the design space, and improving the reliability of the device.

“A key advantage of this approach,” Michael explains, “is its tunability. Stiffness can be adjusted in two ways: through on-board control, by varying internal pressure in real time, and through off-board configuration, by changing the number of layers. This dual mechanism allows both dynamic adjustment during use and simple customisation beforehand, similar to how you would adjust weights on a rack.”

RADlab demonstrated their concept at the recent conference with two wearable prototypes, an arm exoskeleton and a neck support device. Both systems are lightweight and portable, making them suitable for applications such as assisting manual handling tasks in industrial settings or supporting rehabilitation. The approach may also prove useful in environments such as microgravity, where conventional weight-based training cannot be done.

Michael was able to attend and showcase his research at the the IEEE conference in Japan with the support of Pembroke’s Melandra Castle travel fund. Find out more about Pembroke’s travel funds here.