An Introduction to the Special Issue on Occupational Exoskeletons

Details

• Personal Author:
  de Looze M ; Harris-Adamson C ; Lowe, Brian D. ; Nussbaum MA ; Smets M
• Description:
  Welcome to this special issue of the IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors! Our primary motivation in developing this issue was the rapid emergence of exoskeleton technologies for occupational use. While exoskeletons have been developed and tested for some time for rehabilitation and military applications, it is only recently that technologies designed for occupational tasks have become available. Indeed, the number of exoskeletons intended for occupational use is increasing rapidly, from vendors and labs around the world. There are diverse design approaches, intended to support specific body regions (e.g., arms, back, and legs), along with tool-holding devices and so-called "power gloves." Although these devices are now available, existing evidence on their effectiveness in the occupational context remains limited, and we aimed to help address this limitation. Specifically, we sought to compile new studies and evidence using user-centered approaches; such approaches are typical in ergonomics and human factors, though only recently have they been applied to occupational exoskeleton development, evaluation, or adoption/use. Publications on the topic of occupational exoskeletons were relatively sporadic for over a decade, but have grown exponentially in recent years; a similar trend was reported for the more general topic of "robotic exoskeletons" (Bao et al., 2019). While much has been learned and shared in existing literature on occupational exoskeletons, each of the 16 papers in this issue makes a new and important contribution toward understanding how best to facilitate the safe and effective adoption and use of this new technology. The papers in this issue address diverse topics, and include reviews, applications, and original research, described in more detail below. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Body Protection Emerging Technology Exoskeletons Human Factors Engineering Protective Equipment Robotics Wearable Technologies
• ISSN:
  2472-5838
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Michigan ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  153-162
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062079
• Citation:
  IISE Trans Occup Ergon Hum Factors 2019 Oct; 7(3-4):153-162
• Contact Point Address:
  Maury A. Nussbaum, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
• Email:
  nussbaum@vt.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, Berkeley
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9cdfdf43a81cd140a66355f3686ef91f50f04043057e8f3d3c103ddaa433bd817ebbd0c3190d5e7aed49079a68e80980653429f3776730423aefbc058d396cfb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225397/cdc_225397_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.06 MB ]