Benchmarking occupational exoskeletons: An evidence mapping systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics and Human Factors
• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Occupational Health and Safety

Background:

• Occupational exoskeletons are increasingly used to support workers.
• Standardized assessment protocols are needed to benchmark their effectiveness.
• Existing research shows a dynamic evolution in exoskeleton testing methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review protocols for assessing occupational exoskeleton effects on users.
• To develop recommendations for a literature-based assessment framework.
• To facilitate benchmarking of occupational exoskeleton performance across studies.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, and Scopus.
• Studies investigating the effects of occupational exoskeletons on users were included.
• Data on exoskeleton types, validation methods, and experimental designs were extracted.

Main Results:

• 139 eligible studies were identified, covering back, shoulder, and other exoskeletons.
• Device validation commonly used controlled tasks with muscle activity and biomechanical data.
• As exoskeletons matured, tasks became more applied, increasing realism but reducing experimental control; user experience data gained importance.

Conclusions:

• Occupational exoskeleton assessment is a dynamic field.
• Recommendations are provided to enhance homogeneity and repeatability in future studies.
• A framework is proposed to facilitate benchmarking across diverse assessment protocols, balancing variability and standardization.