Effects of the IronHand Soft Exoskeleton on Forearm Muscle Activity During in Field Automotive Assembly Tasks.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSWhen compared to not using a soft-hand exoskeleton, the IronHand caused both increases and decreases in forearm muscle activity while completing automotive assembly tasks. Surprisingly, although there were reductions in muscle activity when wearing the IronHand, only a few of these decreases resulted in muscle activity changing such that they fell to below recommended ergonomic thresholds. Despite this, some individuals in our study clearly benefited from the device, and this suggests that there is potential for widespread use of such a device if fine tuned to the individual and task demands.

Equations for estimating the static supportive torque provided by upper-limb exoskeletons.

Upper-limb exoskeletons are gaining traction in industrial work environments. However, other than advertised general specifications (e.g.

Physical capability limits for right-angle power tool operation.

Automotive assembly operations require power tools to secure fasteners and these operations have been linked to increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders. This work was designed to develop physical capability limits for direct current right-angle power tool (RAPT) operations using psychophysics. Forty females fastened joints of different hardness's using three fastening strategies, at three fastening frequencies.

A survey of right-angle power tool use in Canadian automotive assembly plants.

Right-angle power-tools (RAPT) employed in automotive manufacturing promote greater productivity and quality fastenings, as well as, improve process efficiency. Due to RAPT technological advances automotive manufactures desire to understand their ergonomics consequences within a laboratory environment, however, laboratory-based representation must accurately represent the real world. A survey within automotive assembly plants was conducted to capture RAPT operation data.