AXO-SUIT - A Modular Full-Body Exoskeleton for Physical Assistance Simon Christensen 1 , Shaoping Bai 1(B ) , Sajid Rafique 2 , Magnus Isaksson 2 , Leonard O’Sullivan 3 , Valerie Power 3 , and Gurvinder Singh Virk 4 1 Department of Materials and Production, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark {sic,shb}@mp.aau.dk 2 Department of Electronics, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Gavle, Gavle, Sweden Sajid.Rafique@hig.se 3 School of Design and Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland {Leonard.OSullivan,Valerie.Power}@ul.ie 4 Innovative Technology and Science Limited, North Wing, The Old Livery, Hildersham Road, Cambridge CB21 6DR, UK gurvinder.virk@innotecuk.com Abstract. This paper presents the design of a modular full-body assis- tive exoskeleton (FB-AXO) for older adults which was developed with funding under the AAL funded AXO-SUIT project. Processes used to for- mulate a prioritized set of functional and design requirements via close end-user involvement are outlined and used in realising the exoskeleton. Design of the resulting mechanics and electronics details for the lower- and upper-body subsystems (LB-AXO and (UB-AXO)) are described. Innovative designs of shoulder and spine mechanisms are presented. The FB-AXO system comprises 27 degrees of freedom, of which 17 are passive and 10 active. The exoskeleton assists full-body motions such as walk- ing, standing, bending, as well as performing lifting and carrying tasks to assist older users performing tasks of daily living. Keywords: Robotic exoskeletons · Physical assistance for the elderly Spherical shoulder mechanism · User-centered design 1 Introduction With recent advances in personal care robots, interest in wearable exoskeletons continues to grow, reflecting the increasing demand for assistive technologies to address the challenges of an ageing society. Despite the huge growth of our ageing society, exoskeleton research has largely focused on load augmentation for soldiers/workers, and for rehabilitation purposes following trauma and/or spinal cord injury (SCI) [1]. Apart from the military focused applications, most c  Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 A. Gasparetto and M. Ceccarelli (Eds.): MEDER 2018, MMS 66, pp. 443–450, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00365-4_52