Presentation
Effectiveness of a Hand Exoskeleton in Industrial Applications
DescriptionPrevious research has found that some exoskeletons can reduce muscle activity and discomfort; however, research has also shown the opposite effect where discomfort or mental workload increases when using exoskeletons. To study the exoskeleton effectiveness in industrial applications, we compared muscle fatigue, grip magnitude and angle, and manual dexterity between the bare hand and the exoskeleton in controlled laboratory tasks, representative of industrial applications. Three within-subject experiments were conducted to compare muscle fatigue, grip magnitude and angle, and dexterity between the bare hand and the exoskeleton. Thirty participants were trained in wearing and operating the hand exoskeleton correctly. The present work indicates that the hand exoskeleton increased the grip angle and significantly decreased the grip magnitude. An increase in grip angle can potentially decrease the forearm tendon stress. In the repetitive grip experiment, muscle activity increased over time and significantly faster in the hand exoskeleton condition compared to the bare hand condition. Therefore, the hand exoskeleton may not be beneficial for tasks that require repetitive gripping and may be better for tasks that involve sustained gripping. We also found a significant decrease in dexterity for the hand exoskeleton, which may not be beneficial for tasks that require fine motor manipulation.
Contributors
Alternate Presenter
Event Type
Lecture
TimeWednesday, October 15th1:50pm - 2:10pm CDT
LocationGrand C/D South
Occupational Ergonomics
Similar Presentations