The paper introduces a novel type of actuator for soft wearable exoskeletons providing assistance to the elbow joint motion. The mechanism consists of two DC motors, a multistable composite transmission which introduces series elastic properties, a high-efficiency non-backdrivable mechanism and a pair of Bowden cables to transmit the motion from the actuator to the joint. A test bench has been designed to experimentally characterize the performance of the proposed device. The control architecture is then introduced and described. The results of preliminary tests are shown and discussed. In conclusion, future developments and a embodiment of the envisioned application are introduced.
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