Exoskeletons in Action: The Impact of Exoskeletons on Human Factors During Manual Material Handling

In the last years, both industrial and academic researchers have been trying to explore the effectiveness of exoskeletons in supporting human workers during the execution of various tasks to highlight the benefits and opportunities but also the limitations of this technology. Today multiple types of exoskeletons have been developed to supply support to different body districts. The purpose of the study in this paper is to analyze the impact of an occupational passive back support exoskeleton during manual material handling. Specifically, the study evaluated the influence of the exoskeleton on physiological parameters and human factors, such as the pressure of the feet to the ground, the heart rate and the blood oxygen saturation, and the user perceptions about comfort and usability. The results show variations in the distribution patterns of the pressure of the feet to the ground and in the heart rate when the task is performed with and without the exoskeleton. This experimental study lays the foundations for an in-depth future study in which the findings can be investigated contributing to the growing body of knowledge in the field of human factors and ergonomics at work.