The Dawn of Wearable Ergonomics - Evaluating Exoskeletons in the Field

Presenter: Matthew Marino, ergonomist/physical therapist, Briotix

Every day, workers report to manual material handling jobs in numerous industries. The work can be awkward, heavy, repetitive and fatiguing both physically and mentally. Humans are an integral part of these systems and risk cannot always be engineered out of their jobs. According to the Economic Policy Institute, there are about 8.5 million work related injuries in the USA each year costing approximately 192 billion dollars. These injuries are a burden on the workers, their families and the economy.

Warehouse employees agreed to participate in trials of the SuitX Modular Agile eXoskeleton (MAX) and Strongarm FLx ErgoSkeleton. The trials were supervised by a Briotix ergonomist who identified workers in three departments known for physically demanding work. Exoskeletons are a part of the future of how people with mobility disorders will navigate their communities, how soldiers will fight their battles, and how workers will do their jobs with greater safety and performance. This technology has the potential to enhance and maybe even change the lives of users around the world for the better. This presentation will discuss our effort, data, results, experience and hopes for exoskeletons.

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