• actuation
• control unit
• McKibben muscles
• pneumatic actuation
• robotic materials
• sensing
• smart textiles
• textile capacitive sensors
• wearable robotics

In wearable robotics, the physical Human-Machine Interface (pHMI) has a fundamental role in the usability of the final device. Traditional wearable pHMIs are rigid and passive structures, unable to self-adapt to the physiological changes of the body over time, thus affecting device fitting and causing altered stress distributions, discomforts, and dermatological problems. In this regard, the soft robotics approach opens up novel avenues for developing robotics materials to be exploited as smart pHMIs. In this Thesis, the sensing and actuation strategies to be exploited in a novel robotic material have been designed to overcome the main limitations of traditional wearable pHMIs in terms of comfort and ergonomics. In particular, 3 different sizes of McKibben actuators were developed, i.e., small, medium, and large with a diameter of 3 mm, 5 mm, and 8 mm, respectively, and a length of about 8 cm. Experimental results showed strains up to 26% and output forces during contraction up to 8 N, 13 N and 20 N respectively by small, medium and large actuators. The Chou–Hannaford model was exploited to validate the measured data. Subsequently, rectangular capacitive sensors made of a silicone layer between two silver-plated textiles were developed with area and thickness of 3 x 50 mm2 and 1.5 mm, respectively, and mean baseline capacitance of 22.6 ± 0.07 pF. The sensors were tested and a linear relationship between displacement and capacitance emerged. A lightweight wearable control unit was assembled to operate the final system. Finally, the actuation was embedded into textiles in two different configurations, and a preliminary integration of actuators and pretensioned sensors was analysed to achieve a first robotic material prototype.