Exoworkathlon: A prospective study approach for the evaluation of industrial exoskeletons

Industrial exoskeletons have recently gained importance as ergonomic interventions for physically demanding work activities. The growing demand for exoskeletons is leading to a need for new knowledge on the effectiveness of these systems. The Exoworkathlon, as a prospective study approach, aims to a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Verena Kopp, Mirjam Holl, Marco Schalk, Urban Daub, Enrique Bances, Braulio García, Ines Schalk, Jörg Siegert, Urs Schneider
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2022-01-01
Series:Wearable Technologies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2631717622000172/type/journal_article
Description
Summary:Industrial exoskeletons have recently gained importance as ergonomic interventions for physically demanding work activities. The growing demand for exoskeletons is leading to a need for new knowledge on the effectiveness of these systems. The Exoworkathlon, as a prospective study approach, aims to assess exoskeletons in realistic use cases and to evaluate them neutrally in their entirety. For this purpose, a first set of four realistic Parcours was developed with experts from relevant industries, the German Social Accident Insurance, and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In addition, a set of ratings was defined to assess subjective user feedback, work quality, and objective physiological parameters. Exoworkathlon aims to bring together developers, researchers, and end-users, strengthen collaborative exchanges, and promote a platform for the prospective holistic data collection for exoskeleton evaluation. In this article, the focus is on the background and methodology of Exoworkathlon.
ISSN:2631-7176