What is ExoWorkAthlon Anyways!?
By Thomas Sugar, Director of WearRA
ExoWorkathlon® is a set of work-related tasks (called Parcours) to test the use of industrial exoskeletons. Important features include: Parcours in Box Handling, Car Assembly, Welding, Sack Handling, Installation of Rail Systems, and hanging Drywall. Professional workers complete a particular Parcour, not untrained students or individuals. Industrial manufacturers helped develop industry-relevant work tasks. Performance assessments during the task include subject feedback, quality feedback, EMG feedback, and metabolic cost. The goal is understanding user feedback, ergonomics, metabolic cost, and production quality. PAGE 10 | EXOSKELETON REPORT
The goal is not to determine the advantages and disadvantages of a particular exoskeleton but to maintain market neutrality and understand whether a particular type of exoskeleton can be helpful in industry. In particular, ExoWorkathlon® is a very large study collecting data on families of exoskeletons (120+ participants). Interesting data included: In box handling, the BORG subjective feedback was reduced by 40% when wearing a back exoskeleton. · In car assembly, the BORG subjective feedback was reduced by 33% when wearing a shoulder exoskeleton. Quality: In the welding task, a certified welding simulator sets a score on the quality of the weld. The quality of the weld improved, and the speed increased by 10.1%. ISSUE 8 | JUNE 25, 2024
