Development and testing of a wearable passive lower-limb support exoskeleton to support industrial workers

• Autorzy: Yan Zefeng , Han Bin , Du Zihao , Huang Tiantian , Bai Ou , Peng Ansi

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.1016/j.bbe.2020.12.010

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

A custom-designed, wearable, lightweight, and passive exoskeleton was proposed to provide gravity support for industrial workers to reduce prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, joint injures, and arthritis caused by repeatedly or persistently squatting task. The designed exoskeleton can act as a wearable chair to allow workers to squat for an extended period when performing prolonged tasks. The exoskeleton employs torsion springs to store energy harvested from the squatting motion, and the stored energy is released to help the workers stand up. Dimensions optimization designs based on the finite element analysis program were implemented for a lightweight of the device. Besides, the exoskeleton effectiveness was investigated by performing an ergonomic assessmenton muscular activity, plantar pressure, endurance time, and comfort. The plantar pressure and electromyography of rectus femoris, biceps femoris, vastus medialis, and vastus laterals were measured in a simulated assembly task with the knee bend for three different angles (60°, 90°, 120°) under two conditions of with and without the exoskeleton. The endurance time was recorded in three different static squatting tasks. The comfort with the exoskeleton was recorded. Under the condition of wearing the exoskeleton, the average reduction of muscle activity was 44.8–71.5%, and the plantar pressure was 58.5–64.2%. The exoskeleton contributed to an increase in endurance time from 2.76 to 13.58 min. Moreover, 70% of the subjects exhibited a comprehensive exoskeleton comfort score of higher than 70. The experimental results demonstrated that this exoskeleton has good potential to reduce physical workload and increase endurance time during industrial assembly tasks.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

arthritis; support exoskeleton; muscular activity; plantar pressure; endurance time

PL

artretyzm; egzoszkielet wspomagany; aktywność mięśni; ciśnienie podeszwowe

• Wydawca: Nałęcz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences ; Elsevier
• Czasopismo: Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering
• Rocznik: 2021
• Tom: Vol. 41, no. 1
• Strony: 221--238
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 50 poz., rys., tab., wykr.

Twórcy

autor

Yan Zefeng

• State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

autor

Han Bin

• State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

autor

Du Zihao

• State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

autor

Huang Tiantian

• State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

autor

Bai Ou

• Human Cyber-Physical Systems Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University, FL, USA

autor

Peng Ansi

• Chinese Academy of Science. Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 518055 Shenzhen, China

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Uwagi

Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa Nr 461252 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2021).