Fig. 1: WalkON design.

a, An older adult using WalkON for outdoor walking. Photography by Uwe Anspach. b, WalkON's design comprises a textile structure encompassing a waist belt and two thigh harnesses that can be comfortably worn over regular clothing. The actuation mechanism relies on a tendon-driven transmission, with artificial tendons linked to the front part of the user’s legs. These tendons are actuated by motors in accordance with the user’s gait cycle. Motor commands deliver assistive forces during the swing phase of each step according to the hip joint kinematics recorded through inertial measurement units (IMUs) in the sagittal plane.