New Prototype Exoskeletons For Industrial Employees

Scientists at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) and INAIL (Italian Worker’s Compensation Authority) have designed and produced innovative prototypes of wearable robotic exoskeletons for industrial usage to make the job in the industrial and production areas safer.

Through electric motors and artificial intelligence algorithms, these wearable robotic devices will aid workers in the most physically requiring jobs, considerably lowering the effort needed by up to 40% and reducing the percentage of work-related accidents and chronic occupational disorders.

Scientists are beginning to test the prototypes in real scenarios. They are planning more development to reach the technological level required to bring them to the market in a couple of years.

Developing exoskeletons

In Italy, occupational lesions affecting the musculoskeletal system are the most regular grievances in the workplace: 68% of the occupational injuries reported to INAIL are associated with the musculoskeletal system. Of this percentage, the biggest share (about 41%) concerns the spinal column.

Researchers at IIT and INAIL are collaborating to find strategies that might aid employees in the near future. The new wearable robotic technologies attend to the most common areas of worry:

• the first one, called XoTrunk, assists the lower-back
• the second one, XoShoulder, aims at the shoulders
• the third one, XoElbow, reinforces the elbows

Scientists researched the distribution of forces and overexertion of the body while workers performed specific tasks. Utilizing this information, they developed exoskeletons to reply to those tensions, limiting possible musculoskeletal injury.

At the same time, scientists examined the interaction between the human body and the three exoskeletons, obtaining vital data that will allow them to improve the prototypes and prepare them for market launch.

The three prototypes are an outcome of the Collaborative Cybernetic Systems project executed by IIT’s XoLab study team (Wearable Robots, Exoskeletons and Exosuits Laboratory) led by Jesús Ortiz, with cooperation and assistance from the INAIL Department of Technological Innovation and Safety of Plants, Products and Anthropogenic Installations led by Carlo De Petris.

XoTrunk

XoTrunk was designed to minimize the strain of repetitive load-lifting actions for weights of up to 20 kg, and more basically, it is committed to all those tasks that can fatigue the worker’s back. Furthermore, it is the only device of its kind that can also assist in pulling activities, which are usual in logistics.

The exoskeleton, weighing 6.5 kg, is equipped with two electric motors with a total power of 200 Watts and a torque of 30 N/m each. XoTrunk can also be utilized in synergy with XoKnee, a soft exoskeleton that connects to the robot and supplies the worker with even better assistance during recurring load-lifting jobs.

XoShoulder

XoShoulder was generated to meet the demands of people who exert their shoulders during their daily job. The typical scenario is a mechanical workshop scenario where the operators work under vehicles positioned on car lifts and are subjected to shoulder fatigue because they have to hold heavy tools over shoulder level for extended periods. The prototype, which weighs around 7.7 kg and is fitted with two 70-watt motors with a torque of 12 N/m each, currently represents a unique design from a mechatronics and control point of view.

XoElbow

XoElbow is a prototype that assists in raising weights close to the operator’s body. An instance of its application would certainly be raising heavy tires to fit them on a car on an automotive lift. It is outfitted with the same motors as XoShoulder and weighs around 7 kg. To XoShoulder, this device provides unique features in the field of exoskeletons.

Mainstream use of exoskeletons

All three wearable robots are manufactured of engineering plastics and aluminum alloys commonly used for aerospace applications, and they are developed for the principal industrial contexts in which operators, both male, and female, are most likely to place excessive stress on their musculoskeletal systems: production, maintenance, food processing, logistics, construction, and agriculture.

These prototypes utilize artificial intelligence algorithms to give the ideal support according to the type of job and how it is executed. An additional characteristic usual to all these devices and fundamental for this type of device is transparency. Indeed, the robots must not hinder or restrict mobility but come into operation only for the most requiring tasks, supplying support for the employees’ musculoskeletal system.

Presently, XoTrunk is undergoing initial testing at picked companies for field trials and using an IIT start-up project (Proteso) that was launched this year. It is expected to be put on the market over the following months. XoElbow and XoShoulder will begin their real-life scenario testing over the next couple of months, and it is expected that they can be accessible in the marketplace in the next few years.

Read the original article on Tech Xplore.

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