Ergonomic evaluation of knee exoskeleton assistance in construction: A multimodal study

Construction work involves physically strenuous tasks that heighten the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and productivity loss. Wearable exoskeletons have shown a promising potential to help prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders and decrease physical demands of human workers. Most existing studies evaluate wearable exoskeletons in simplified settings or isolated tasks and do not fully reflect the diverse and dynamic task demands of construction-related activities.

To address this gap, this study presents an integrated framework that combines wearable knee exoskeleton assistance, immersive virtual- and augmented-reality (VR/AR) tasks, and synchronized multi-sensor data to quantify safety and performance in construction-like workspaces. Twenty-one adults completed multi-task protocols on a modular stair-ramp-deck platform with and without exoskeleton assistance while motion capture, force plates, electromyography, inertial sensors, and metabolic data recorded biomechanics and effort. The analyses and results indicate that exoskeleton assistance reduces lower-limb muscular demand and improves postural stability during kneeling and VR/AR tasks.

Human subject survey results show perceived stability gains but note comfort and weight concerns. The evaluation framework provides a reproducible, task-relevant method for evaluating ergonomic and productivity outcomes with wearable sensing and exoskeletons in construction. Conclusions and Pracical Applications: The complete multimodal dataset and protocols are openly released to facilitate benchmarking and the development of future adaptive, task-aware wearable exoskeletons for workplace applications.