Comparison of soft vs. rigid back support exoskeletons through psychophysical and biomechanical approaches during load handling

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 2023-09, Vol.67 (1), p.788-789
• Main Authors: Raghuraman, Rahul Narasimhan, Barbieri, Dechristian, Aviles, Jessica, Srinivasan, Divya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1071-1813; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/21695067231192532

As occupational exoskeletons are approaching real world implementation, perceptions about use and their effectiveness may differ across diverse age/gender groups, and device design. A soft and rigid type back-support exoskeleton (EXO) were evaluated in terms of selfrated maximum acceptable load (MAL), usability/social perceptions, and biomechanical outcomes during simulated manual material handling tasks. Thirty-six female and male participants from two age groups (18- 30 and 45-60 years) completed repetitive lifting and lowering tasks. Overall, both EXOs significantly improved participants’ MAL by ~6-7%, reduced peak trunk angle by 3-5 degrees, and reduced peak trunk extensor muscle activity by 9 - 13% . Participants generally reported both the EXOs as being useful, easy to use, and safe. This first systematic consideration of diverse age groups using a psychophysics approach in the context of passive occupational EXO use in laboratory settings contributes to bridging the gap between lab and field studies in exoskeleton implementations.