This contribution deals with a particular type of robotic systems, i.e. exoskeletons
or wearable systems. With respect to conventional robots, exoskeletons present the main
feature of being wearable and, consequently, always in contact with the human operator
during operative conditions. The design and control of exoskeletons must then necessarily
take into account this condition, not only for safety issues, but also in terms of transparency
for user’s movement and fidelity in the generation of torques/forces to the operator. The
experience of the PERCeptual RObotics laboratory of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in the
design of exoskeletons is presented, by addressing the description of developed robotic
exoskeletons. Implications for the usage of exoskeleton systems in the simulation of
grasping in Virtual Environments are discussed, with an analysis of the issues associated to
the test of myoelectric control of prostheses in Virtual Environments.
Keywords: Human-Robot Interaction, Exoskeleton, Haptic Devices.
