# Implementing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Considerations in Wearable Robot Design
## 1 Introduction  
Wearable robots (WRs) have a high potential impact on users, their social environment and society at large [1]. WR technical and programming education is being integrated into engineering curricula [2], but non-technical potential impacts have only been modestly addressed in curricula to date. While guidance and benchmarking for WR developers regarding electrical and mechanical safety is being developed, see [3, 4], ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) have not been translated into actionable goals. There is a general awareness in robotics development of some legal and regulatory aspects, such as health and safety or data security, but WR developers are often unsure of the relevance of other EISI concerns for their professional practice. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to give an overview of documents, processes, and initiatives that offer _general_ information and guidance on the integration of EISI into the development of new technologies. Second, and most importantly, we aim to provide the first _practical_, domain-specific guidance on EISI matters in the development ofWRs. The paper builds on prior work conducted by the Working Group of the H2020 COST Action 16116 on ELSI of WRs, including expert consultations and a literature review [5]. The results of this theoretical analysis are now translated into a specified flowchart directed at WR engineers and is designed to help them include ELSI considerations into the development process of WRs. Education about, and consideration of, ELSI in WR design help to prepare the groundwork for engineers and designers to comply with the current, and yet to be developed, legal frameworks [6]. Integrating legal and ethical considerations into WR design may not only ease market entrance, but also facilitate the building of trust and ultimately user acceptance of the device. Such acceptance is paramount because it leads to faster adoption of WRs in daily practice [7; 8; 9], making WRs more commercially successful. Considering ELSI also helps researchers think through their projects with a broader lens, which may also facilitate faster ethical approvals for testing and consecutive prototyping [10]). Including ELSI in guidance and education for WR developers is also in line with the broader shift in engineering education from technology-only skills towards the development of transdisciplinary \"21 st-century skills\", such as critical/creative thinking, social skills, collaboration, and communication [11; 12]. It is not sufficient to focus on technical and standardization issues [5; 13; 14; 15]. Engineers also need to recognise the wider impact of their technologies, e.g., by addressing questions regarding expectations, understanding, and behavior by various stakeholders, which may impact the societal reception of WRs. It is also important to be cognizant of current legal and regulatory requirements as well as impending developments with potential future impact on the field [16; 17]. This paper starts by outlining various existing international guidance documents that propose important elements of good ELSI practices. While these documents outline general procedures and principles, it will be argued that insufficient attention has so far been paid to the need for practical domain-specific ELSI guidance for WR developers (Section 2). To close this gap, we first provide a condensed summary of important ELSI for WRs in Section 3 and then use this knowledge to devise a flowchart tailored for WR engineers in Section 4. We hope that our practical guidance can convey to WR developers that the consideration of ELSI does not have to be an obstacle to their work, but that it can be an opportunity to increase their chances of developing a successful product. Process, Principles and Domain-Specificity: The Challenge of Targeting Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Guidance Effectively  
Over the last decade, there has been increasing awareness of the importance of paying attention to ELSI in robot development [18; 19; 20].