Abstract
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) pose a significant concern in several industries, especially those involving manual or repetitive tasks. Wearable assistive robotics technology has emerged as a potential solution to prevent WMSDs. Current exoskeletons are bulky and heavy, have certain drawbacks that can limit their effectiveness. Alternatively, soft robotics technology provides a non-invasive, ergonomic, and adaptable approach. This paper introduced the design and development of wearable soft robotic system aiming for load lifting task assistance. The system design, Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs) design, and wearable design aspects were presented. A preliminary system evaluation test was carried out. The results indicate that this system is effective in reducing the muscle activities. Therefore, it can be potentially used for preventing muscle fatigue around shoulder joint, under repetitive and load-carrying work tasks.
S. Cheng and H. Na—Contributed equally to this work.
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Acknowledgement
This research is in part supported by the National Key R&D Program - Research on Key Technologies and Intervention Strategies for the Prevention and Control of Work-related Diseases and Occupational Injuries [2022YFC2503205] and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program [JCYJ20210324093005015].
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Cheng, S. et al. (2023). Design and Development of Wearable Upper Limb Soft Robotics for Load Lifting Task Assistance. In: Yang, H., et al. Intelligent Robotics and Applications. ICIRA 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 14268. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6486-4_39
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6486-4_39
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