Investigating Kinematics and Electromyography Changes in Manual Handling Tasks with an Active Lumbar Exoskeleton

Abstract

Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the health of their employees and are now integrating exoskeleton solutions for both prevention and job maintenance. However, the effect of using exoskeletons is still an open question. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of an active lumbar exoskeleton and its passive belt on trunk kinematics and muscle activity using instrumented motion analysis. Twenty-three healthy subjects volunteered to perform three handlings of a 5 kg load (free lifting, squat lifting, and load transfer) under three different experimental conditions. The “Control” condition was when the subject did not wear any device, the “Belt” condition was when the subject wore only the passive part of the exoskeleton, and the “Exo” condition was when the subject wore the active exoskeleton. Based on the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment scale, the exoskeleton reduced the time spent in angles that were considered dangerous for the back, according to ergonomic evaluations. Furthermore, for the handling sessions, it was observed that the exoskeleton did not modify muscle activity in the abdominal–lumbar region.