TY - GEN
T1 - Pilot study of powered wearable robot use for simulated flooring work
AU - Okunola, Akinwale
AU - Akanmu, Abiola
AU - Gonsalves, Nihar
AU - Yusuf, Anthony
AU - Jebelli, Houtan
N1 - This material is based upon work supported by Allan Myers and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. IIS-2221167. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Work-related musculoskeletal disorders pose a significant threat to the health, safety, and retention of skilled workers in the construction industry. Construction trades, such as floor layers, perform physically demanding work involving lifting materials and maintaining awkward postures, triggering low back disorders. Active back-support exoskeletons have emerged as potential preventive technology. This paper evaluates the suitability of a commercially available active back-support exoskeleton for a simulated flooring task by assessing measures such as range of motion, perceived level of exertion, and cognitive load. No significant difference was observed in the comparison of these measures with and without the active exoskeleton. However, the use of the exoskeleton triggered slight reductions in the range of motion of the back, perceived exertion, and mental demand. These preliminary findings could motivate more studies into the design and evaluation of similar technologies for improving construction workforce health and safety.
AB - Work-related musculoskeletal disorders pose a significant threat to the health, safety, and retention of skilled workers in the construction industry. Construction trades, such as floor layers, perform physically demanding work involving lifting materials and maintaining awkward postures, triggering low back disorders. Active back-support exoskeletons have emerged as potential preventive technology. This paper evaluates the suitability of a commercially available active back-support exoskeleton for a simulated flooring task by assessing measures such as range of motion, perceived level of exertion, and cognitive load. No significant difference was observed in the comparison of these measures with and without the active exoskeleton. However, the use of the exoskeleton triggered slight reductions in the range of motion of the back, perceived exertion, and mental demand. These preliminary findings could motivate more studies into the design and evaluation of similar technologies for improving construction workforce health and safety.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85184282779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85184282779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1061/9780784485224.098
DO - 10.1061/9780784485224.098
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85184282779
T3 - Computing in Civil Engineering 2023: Data, Sensing, and Analytics - Selected Papers from the ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering 2023
SP - 813
EP - 820
BT - Computing in Civil Engineering 2023
A2 - Turkan, Yelda
A2 - Louis, Joseph
A2 - Leite, Fernanda
A2 - Ergan, Semiha
PB - American Society of Civil Engineers
T2 - ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering 2023: Data, Sensing, and Analytics, i3CE 2023
Y2 - 25 June 2023 through 28 June 2023
ER -