SIAT-WEXv2: A Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load during Lifting Tasks

Xinyu Ji,Liangsheng Zheng,Jianquan Sun,Xinyu Wu,Dashuai Wang,Pengfei Li,Zhile Yang

doi:10.1155/2020/8849427

Abstract

Lumbar Exoskeleton, as an important instance of wearable exoskeleton, has broad application prospects in logistics, construction, and other industries. Specifically, in the working scenarios that require long-term and repeated bending and rising movements, active lumbar exoskeleton (ALE) can provide effective protection and flexible assistance to wear’s waist muscles and bones, which will significantly reduce the risk of lumbar muscle strain. How to improve the human-machine coupling and enhance the assistance performance are the main challenges for ALE’s development. Based on the biomechanical analysis of the movement of lifting heavy objects from bottom up, this paper proposes a lightweight but powerful ALE, named as SIAT-WEXv2, which can output maximum assistive force of 28 N. Additionally, we use robust fuzzy adaptive algorithm to improve SIAT-WEXv2’s antidisturbance ability, so that it can provide continuous and supple assistance for wearer. Electromyography (EMG) signals of the lumbar erector spinae (LES) from ten subjects in two experimental cases (with or without SIAT-WEXv2) were collected to evaluate the effectiveness of our new ALE. The experimental results indicate that the reduction of iEMG signal at LES decreased monotonically from 60% ± 5.5% to 40.5% ± 6.5% as the weight of lifting load increased from 0 to 25 kg.

Highlights

Musculoskeletal diseases are the most common diseases in many industrial countries, for example, China, India, and America. ey have a major impact on the quality of workers’ life and the loss of company’s productivity. e proportion of workers with lumbar problems in the logistics, construction, and medical rehabilitation industries is 84%, 75%, 75%, and 67%, respectively [1]. is problem has become a social hazard
After electrodes have attached to the skin, we wrapped a circle of the medical belt for improving the accuracy of EMG data
Conclusions is work introduced a new active lumbar exoskeleton (ALE), SIAT-WEXv2, featuring with simple structure, light weight, and prominent assistive capacity based on ergonomics design concept and biomechanical analysis method

Summary

Introduction

Musculoskeletal diseases are the most common diseases in many industrial countries, for example, China, India, and America. ey have a major impact on the quality of workers’ life and the loss of company’s productivity. e proportion of workers with lumbar problems in the logistics, construction, and medical rehabilitation industries is 84%, 75%, 75%, and 67%, respectively [1]. is problem has become a social hazard. Is problem has become a social hazard. E proportion of workers with lumbar problems in the logistics, construction, and medical rehabilitation industries is 84%, 75%, 75%, and 67%, respectively [1]. To solve this problem, many solutions have been proposed. The research of the lumbar exoskeleton is worthy of attention [2]. In order to improve its force-assisted performance, many universities and research institutions are developing lighter and more powerful lumbar exoskeletons. Due to the different driving components of the exoskeleton, it can be divided into two types: passive and active [2]

Methods

Results

Conclusion