Cheol Hoon ParkThe researcher who made Fabric Muscle, and why he founded SARTEXO

Technical lineage

Fabric Muscle did not come out of a single paper. It is research carried forward at KIMM and then taken to market.

1. 2012–2018

   Shape memory alloy artificial muscle research begins

   Work on SMA-based artificial muscle modules starts at KIMM, securing the founding patents.

2. 2019

   Fabric Muscle core technology established

   Showed that shape memory alloy springs, processed into yarn and woven, can produce force across a surface. Published in Soft Robotics and Scientific Reports.

   View paper

3. 2025

   A textile wearable robot assisting three joints at once

   Announced the world's first clothing-type suit assisting waist, shoulder and elbow simultaneously. The same year, automated weaving equipment established a basis for volume production.

   View press release

4. 2026

   SARTEXO founded

   Commercialisation of 3rd-generation textile wearable robots built on Fabric Muscle begins.

World's first 3-joint simultaneous assist: Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials press release, Oct 2025.

Research awards

Awards received for research at the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials.

Research outcomes published in international journals

① Actuator-level performance (material/component) · ② Work-assist evaluation (healthy adults, field/lab) · ③ Patient clinical studies — conditions differ, so the results are not compared or converted across groups.

1. 2026

   IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics2026① Actuator-level

   Differential Force Sensing for Human-Artificial Muscle Interaction in Wearable Robots

   Differential force sensing for human-artificial muscle interaction

   Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (ASME)2026

   Design of a bistable inertial clutch for a passive-elastic ankle exoskeleton

   A bistable inertial clutch design for a passive-elastic ankle assistive device

2. 2025

   IEEE TNSRE2025③ Patient clinical

   Soft Exosuit Based on Fabric Muscle to Assist Shoulder Joint Movements in Patients with Neuromuscular Diseases

   Fabric Muscle shoulder-assist suit, Seoul National University Hospital clinical trial — 57%+ shoulder ROM improvement

   DOI: 10.1109/TNSRE.2025.3613709

   International Journal of Robotics Research2025

   Rollable-based layer jamming device with variable stiffness for soft wearable applications

   A rollable layer-jamming device with variable stiffness for soft wearable applications

3. 2022

   IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics2022② Work-assist · healthy adults

   Soft Exosuit Based on Fabric Muscle for Upper Limb Assistance

   540g upper limb assist suit — 50–70% muscle activity reduction under 10kg load (2022 prototype)

   Scientific Reports2022① Actuator-level

   Fabric muscle with a cooling acceleration structure for upper limb assistance soft exosuits

   Fabric Muscle with a cooling acceleration structure for faster response in upper limb assistance

4. 2019

   Scientific Reports2019

   Suit-type Wearable Robot Powered by Shape-memory-alloy-based Fabric Muscle

   Proposed the first suit-type wearable robot (STWR) powered by SMA-based Fabric Muscle

   Soft Robotics2019① Actuator-level

   A Novel Fabric Muscle Based on Shape Memory Alloy Springs

   Proposed a novel Fabric Muscle technology based on SMA springs

and 7 more