Arlington, TX — Engineers from the University of Texas at Arlington say they’ve developed a soft, air-powered exoskeleton that shows promise in helping workers reduce muscle strain.
The Pneumatically Actuated Soft Elbow Exoskeleton, or PASE, uses a “lightweight silicone ‘pneumatic actuator’ – a soft, air-filled mechanism that helps move the arm – to assist movement during everyday industrial tasks such as lifting, assembling and drilling,” a UTA press release states.
To test its effectiveness, the engineers asked 19 participants, ages 18 to 45, to perform three different tasks: manual weightlifting, basic assembly and power drilling. They found that, when the “exoskeleton support was engaged, muscle activity in the biceps and triceps decreased by up to 22% during lifting tasks, and participants reported eight- to 10-point reductions in perceived physical and mental workload using NASA’s Task Load Index compared with when the support was off.”
Musculoskeletal disorders account for 30% of nonfatal work injuries and cost employers at least $18 billion annually, according to the National Safety Council’s MSD Solutions Lab.
“Even delaying or preventing a single workplace injury makes a huge impact,” Veysel Erel, research scientist with the UTA Research Institute, said in the release. “Projects like this show how engineering can directly improve people’s quality of life by reducing fatigue, preventing strain and creating safer work environments.”
