Integrating Exosuit Capabilities into Clothing to Make Back Relief Accessible to Workers Unserved by Existing Exoskeletons: Design and Preliminary Evaluation

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS

We developed a method for integrating back-assist exosuit capabilities into regular clothing to make musculoskeletal relief accessible to more workers. We demonstrated proof-of-concept that this uniform-integrated exosuit can be effective and usable. Existing occupational exosuits are standalone accessories worn on top of a user’s clothing and are not suitable for all workers. Our newly developed sub-class of exosuit could be beneficial to workers who alternate between bending, lifting, and sitting tasks, or to those in customer- or patient-facing jobs where it is important for wearable technology to be discreet.

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT

Background

Occupational exos (comprising both rigid exoskeletons and soft exosuits) are emerging technologies designed to reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Existing occupational exos are standalone accessories worn on top of a user’s clothing.

Purpose

Our objective was to determine whether back-assist exosuit capabilities could be integrated into regular clothing in an effective and usable manner, which could make musculoskeletal relief accessible to more workers.

Methods

We redesigned an accessory exosuit so it could integrate into a standard-issue U.S. Army uniform. The uniform-integrated exosuit prototype was low-profile (protruding <30 mm from the body), lightweight (adding 800 grams to the uniform), and could be donned/doffed like normal clothing. We demonstrated the effectiveness and usability of the prototype in lab testing (N = 5) and in a case study (N = 1) with a U.S. Army Soldier.

Results

In lab testing, the exosuit provided 18-27 Nm of torque about the low back during lifting. Assistance could be engaged or disengaged one-handed in about half a second, and the exosuit did not restrict a user’s natural range of motion or cause discomfort. The case study Soldier who performed operationally relevant tasks reported that he was satisfied with the weight, comfort, range of motion, and lifting assistance of the prototype.

Conclusions

This work demonstrated proof-of-concept that integrating back-assist exosuit capabilities into standard workwear can be effective and usable. We added lifting assistance with little change to the form factor, weight, range of motion, or comfort of the standard uniform. This new sub-class of exosuit could be beneficial to workers who alternate between bending, lifting, and sitting (e.g., driving) tasks, or to those in customer- or patient-facing jobs where it is important for wearable technology to be discreet.

Keywords:

• Workwear
• wearable technology
• work-related musculoskeletal disorders
• back pain
• lifting assistance

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge U.S. Army Pathfinder Program support from DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, the Civil-Military Innovation Institute, Army Futures Command, and Vanderbilt University.

Competing Interests

Authors P.R.S., S.J.F., C.C.I., D.N.W., K.M.R., and K.E.Z. are co-inventors on intellectual property related to back exos. Authors K.E.Z. and C.C.I. have a financial interest in HeroWear, LLC, which produces and sells occupational exos. HeroWear had no role in this study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit this manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was sponsored by the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory and was accomplished under Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-21-2-0078. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Government purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation herein.