Lightweight active back exosuit reduces muscular effort during an hour-long order picking task

• Published in: Communications engineering Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 35 - 11
• Main Authors: Chung, Jinwon, Quirk, D. Adam, Applegate, Megan, Rouleau, Michael, Degenhardt, Nathalie, Galiana, Ignacio, Dalton, Diane, Awad, Louis N., Walsh, Conor J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 23-02-2024; Springer Nature B.V; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/166/985; 639/166/988; Adaptability; Back injuries; Biomechanics; Engineering; Exoskeletons; Hoisting; Injuries; Injury prevention; Lightweight; Muscle function; Muscles; Obstacle avoidance; Order picking; Robust control; Sensors; Usability; Warehouses; Workplace accidents
• ISSN: 2731-3395; 2731-3395
• DOI: 10.1038/s44172-024-00180-w

Occupational back exoskeletons and exosuits aim to reduce low back injuries in the workplace. For these technologies to be adopted, it is important that they provide biomechanical benefits to the wearer and do not disrupt job performance. To address this challenge, here we developed a lightweight, soft, active back exosuit that can autonomously control virtual impedance to apply differing assistance during lowering and lifting. In usability tests, participants rated the exosuit as easy to learn and use and reported feeling confident while wearing it. In an experiment involving an hour-long order picking task we demonstrated that the exosuit reduced peak and median muscle activations in the back by 18% and 20%, respectively. Despite the complexity of the movements required, such as walking, bending, and navigating around obstacles while lifting boxes from under a rack, our controller demonstrated impressive robustness with only 14 mistriggers out of 9600 lifts (0.1%). The results of this research suggest that active exosuit technology has the potential to be a highly usable solution to aid warehouse workers in real-world settings.
Chung, Quirk and colleagues present a lightweight active back exosuit to assist workers when lifting. Testing in a simulated one-hour order picking task demonstrates the device has practical usability and reduces back muscle effort by 18%.