Framework for qualifying exoskeletons as adaptive support technology.

Area of Science:

• Industrial Engineering
• Human-Machine Systems
• Robotics

Background:

• Digitalization and the Fifth Industrial Revolution present challenges for enterprises.
• Human workers remain crucial in future factories, requiring support for manual tasks amidst societal and demographic shifts.
• Exoskeletons are emerging as key technologies to support workers, necessitating advancements in human-machine interaction and smart device integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a framework for the future-oriented qualification of exoskeletons.
• To explore the potential of user-individual and context-dependent adaptivity in exoskeleton support systems.
• To enable exoskeletons as a future-proof technology for human-centered work processes.

Main Methods:

• Development of a framework to classify different support situations based on elementary functions.
• Analysis of support function dependencies and characteristics to describe adaptive system behavior.
• Practical illustration using an exemplary active exoskeleton to demonstrate adaptive support characteristics.

Main Results:

• A framework for qualifying exoskeletons based on elementary functions has been developed.
• The framework enables the description of adaptive system behavior for human-centered support.
• User-individual and context-specific adaptive support characteristics were demonstrated for an active exoskeleton.

Conclusions:

• Adaptive exoskeletons, tailored to individual users and specific contexts, are vital for future workplaces.
• The proposed framework facilitates the needs-based application of exoskeletons, enhancing worker support.
• Exoskeletons can significantly contribute to designing purposeful and valuable future work environments.