ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
This article is part of the Research TopicRevolutionizing sports science: Biomechanical models, wearable tech, and AIView all 19 articles
Development of a training-oriented wearable knee joint exoskeleton for forming a scientific force application pattern in squat tasks
Provisionally accepted
- 1Capital Institute of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
- 2Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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Background Squat training enhances athletic performance but poses knee-injury risks when technique is poor. Objective Develop a resistance-type wearable knee exoskeleton to cultivate a hip-dominant, knee-safe squat pattern. Methods Fifteen healthy males performed squats with (exoskeleton) and without (barbell) the device at three matched loads. 3-D motion, ground-reaction force and EMG data were processed in OpenSim and MATLAB to quantify joint kinematics, power share and muscle contribution. Results The exoskeleton significantly reduced average angular velocity at the hip, knee and ankle (p < 0.05), increasing hip power contribution by 20–40 % while decreasing knee contribution by 20–30 %, confirming a hip-driven pattern. However, knee and ankle ranges of motion decreased by 7–9 ° and vastus medialis activation dropped by ~50 % (p < 0.05). Conclusion The device effectively standardizes squat mechanics and off-loads the knee, yet individualized tuning and auxiliary mobility work are recommended to optimize training transfer and preserve functional range of motion.
Keywords: injury prevention, Joint power redistribution, Muscle activation, Squat biomechanics, wearable exoskeleton
Received: 05 Oct 2025; Accepted: 12 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Chang, Feng, Li and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yang Yu
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