Effects of an industrial passive assistive exoskeleton on muscle activity, oxygen consumption and subjective responses during lifting tasks.

Xishuai Qu,Tao Ma,Chenxi Qu,Shengguan Qu,Peng Yin,Yumeng Xia,Ning Zhao,Peter Schwenkreis

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245629

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an industrial passive assisted exoskeleton (IPAE) with simulated lifting tasks on muscle activity, oxygen consumption, perceived level of exertion, local perceived pressure, and systemic usability. Eight workers were required to complete two lifting tasks with and without the IPAE, that were single lifting tasks (repeated 5 times) and 15 min repeated lifting tasks respectively. Both of the tasks required subjects to remove a toolbox from the ground to the waist height. The test results showed that IPAE significantly reduced the muscle activity of the lumbar erector spinae, thoracic erector spinae, middle deltoid and labrum-biceps muscles; the reduction effect during the 15 min lifting task was reached 21%, 12%, 32% and 38% respectively. The exoskeleton did not cause significant differences in oxygen consumption and the perceived level of exertion, but local perceived pressure on the shoulders, thighs, wrists, and waist of the subjects could be produced. 50% of the subjects rated the usability of the equipment as acceptable. The results illustrate the good potential of the exoskeleton to reduce the muscle activity of the low back and upper arms. However, there is still a concern for the obvious contact pressure.

Highlights

Despite the widespread use of robots instead of labors for material handling in the industrial field, many short-distance material-lifting tasks are still performed manually [1]
During the 15 min lifting task, middle deltoid (MD) and LB muscle activities were reduced by 32% and 38%, the industrial passive assisted exoskeleton (IPAE)’s effect on the upper arm muscles was more obvious
The paired sample t-test result showed that there was no significant difference in relative oxygen consumption between the two conditions (p = 0.59)

Summary

Introduction

Despite the widespread use of robots instead of labors for material handling in the industrial field, many short-distance material-lifting tasks are still performed manually [1]. Workers’ subjective initiative can represent an irreplaceable advantage in some tasks [2]. Workers are likely to suffer from musculoskeletal disorder, of which low back pain (LBP) is the number one cause of disability in the world [3]. Effects of an industrial passive assistive exoskeleton

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion