Designing reliable wiring systems for exoskeletons is far more complex than standard industrial cabling. Cables and harness assemblies on wearable robots must survive combined bending, alternating torsion, cyclic tension, surface abrasion and tight packaging constraints around human joints.
Many hardware and robotics engineers look for peer-reviewed technical literature to define test criteria, layout rules and failure mitigation strategies for high-flex cables. Below is a curated reading list focused on flexible wiring, harness routing, strain relief and cable fatigue in exoskeleton systems.
> Note: A clear distinction is made between electrical power/signal wiring and Bowden tendon actuation cables. Bowden cable publications study mechanical force transmission, not servo power cables or shielded sensor harnesses.
Recommended Papers for Electrical Harness & High-Flex Cable Engineering
1. Transparency evaluation for the Kinematic Design of the Harnesses through Human-Exoskeleton Interaction Modeling
Source: arXiv, 2024
This paper introduces a human-exoskeleton kinematic model to evaluate harness routing transparency. It quantifies slack requirements, motion interference risks and the mechanical load transferred to wiring during natural gait. The findings provide a solid theoretical basis for strain relief design and service loop sizing when laying out exoskeleton harnesses.
2. Force Transmission Analysis and Optimization of Bowden Cable on Body in a Flexible Exoskeleton
Source: Applied Bionics and Biomechanics, 2022, DOI: 10.1109/2022/5552166
Although centered on Bowden tendon drives, its wear, friction and cyclic fatigue analysis is transferable to flexible electrical cables worn against the human body. Engineers can reference its test framework to set up torsion-bending durability validation for PUR / TPEE jacketed high-flex cables.
3. A Compact and Portable Exoskeleton for Shoulder and Elbow Assistance for Workers and Prospective Use in Space
Source: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2022, DOI: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3185808
This industrial upper-limb exoskeleton case study discusses practical wiring constraints in compact joint spaces. It covers jacket material selection, abrasion protection, anchor point placement and common failure modes including braid shielding loosening.
4. Bioinspired Cable-Driven Actuation System for Wearable Robotic Devices: Design, Control, and Characterization
Source: IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2023, DOI: 10.1109/TMECH.2023.3241277
The work addresses dynamic cable slack management over gait cycles, a key challenge for wearable harnesses. It also includes EMI characterization, examining crosstalk between high-current motor power lines and low-amplitude sensor feedback wires.
5. Optimized Design for Cable-Driven Shoulder-Elbow Exoskeleton Robot
Source: IEEE Access, 2021, DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3084014
This publication focuses on multi-joint routing optimization for dense harness bundles. It analyzes minimum bend radius limits across different postures and offers guidance for separating power and signal conductors to reduce electromagnetic coupling in space-constrained upper-body exoskeletons.
Supplementary Reading: Tendon-Driven Exoskeleton Research
These papers investigate mechanical tendon transmission rather than electrical wiring, useful for broader exoskeleton system context:
- Muscle-inspired bi-planar cable routing: a novel framework for designing cable driven lower limb rehabilitation exoskeletons, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2024
- Design, Control, and Validation of a Novel Cable-Driven Series Elastic Actuation System for a Flexible and Portable Back-Support Exoskeleton, IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, 2022