Technological Prospecting on robotic exoskeleton to assist human locomotion

The number of people with mobility problems due to stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI) and other related diseases is growing rapidly worldwide. This fact requires the development of assistive technologies to aid in the mobility and rehabilitation of affected people. In this perspective, this study aimed to perform a technological prospection about robotic exoskeletons to assist human locomotion. The method employed consisted of structured searches in the Espacenet and the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (NIIP) databases, in which 366 patent applications were identified between 1995 and 2020. Espacenet grouped 99.18% of the deposits related to the technology of interest, being the Scientific, Technological and Innovation Institutions (STIs) the ones that stood out in the quantity of deposits (60.93%). Furthermore, China's dominance in the robotic exoskeleton market was evident, as it accounted for 74.6% of the registrations made worldwide. Given the scenario analyzed, it was noticed that robotic exoskeletons have been improved over the years, and that such technological advances have enabled the emergence of new means of locomotion and the transformation of the daily lives of people with mobility disorders.