PhD Studentship: AI-based Design of Smart Textile Exoskeletons for Hand Rehabilitation

This 3.5 year PhD project is fully funded for home students; studentship is open to Home (UK) applicants only. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax free stipend, set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26), and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year.

Millions of people suffer from impaired hand function due to aging, stroke, or injury, significantly limiting their ability to perform essential daily tasks. This interdisciplinary PhD project aims to design a new generation of soft exoskeletons using smart textiles, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and biomechanical modelling, to support rehabilitation of impaired hand function. It addresses critical limitations in current hand rehabilitation devices, which are often rigid, uncomfortable, and poorly adapted to individual needs.
Focusing on aging-induced and post-stroke hand impairments, the project explores textile-based exoskeletons that are soft, breathable, lightweight, and fully personalized. The candidate will investigate textiles, computational design, and functional validation of hand-worn assistive devices, aiming to create textile exoskeletons that can conform to complex hand geometries while delivering graded biomechanical support for key tasks like pinching, grasping, and extension.

The PhD student will work on two key objectives:

1. Develop a novel method to link the geometry and motion of hand captured by 3D/4D scanning to the mechanics of the textiles for exoskeleton design.
2. Build and experimentally evaluate textile exoskeletons using lab-based motion capture, pressure sensing, and Electromyography (EMG) tools to understand user-device interaction and optimize real-world rehabilitation performance.

The student will gain experience in AI, human biomechanics, smart textiles, and digital design tools, with access to facilities such as 3D body scanning system, textile fabrication equipment, and motion capture system. This project supports national research priorities in sustainable healthcare, healthy aging, and inclusive design, and offers a unique opportunity to contribute to socially impactful innovation in biomedical materials and wearable technology. At The University of Manchester, we pride ourselves on our commitment to fairness, inclusion and respect in everything we do. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and identities, and encourage you to bring your whole self to work and study. We will ensure that your application is given full consideration without regard to your race, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital or pregnancy status, or socioeconomic background. All PhD places will be awarded on the basis of merit.

This studentship is open to Home (UK) applicants only. Candidates should hold a relevant Master's degree (or exceptional Bachelor's) in biomedical/mechanical engineering, materials science, or computer science, with experience in mechanical design/textiles and programming (Python/MATLAB). Experience in biosignal analysis or wearable devices is desirable.

To apply please contact the supervisors; Dr Pengpeng Hu - pengpeng.hu@manchester.ac.uk and Prof Li - henry.yili@manchester.ac.uk. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

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