Evaluation of the efficiency of the application of an industrial exoskeleton according to the degree of employee fatigue

Introduction. The object of the study was the trend in the functional state in the human body when performing physical work using an industrial exoskeleton designed to unload the muscles of the back and arms when lifting, lowering, carrying, and holding loads weighing up to 50 kg. The study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of applying an industrial exoskeleton to reduce fatigue in a work simulation environment.

Materials and methods. In the laboratory, a model of an employee’s work related to lifting, moving, and holding cargo was developed. To assess the efficiency of the application of an industrial exoskeleton, a comparison was made of the degrees of fatigue in terms of the functional state of skeletal muscles when performing laboratory model of labor activity with and without an industrial exoskeleton. The following biomedical methods were used: electromyography, myotonometry, and questionnaires. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis.

Results. When working with an exoskeleton, some muscles were in a state of less tension than when working without it. The results of the analysis of the subjective assessment of local stress showed the physical stress in the volunteers to be lower when working in an exoskeleton compared to working without it.

Limitations. A small sample size and modeling in labour activity in the laboratory does not allow taking into account all the factors that affect an employee using an exoskeleton in production. For a more complete evaluation of the efficiency of an industrial exoskeleton, it is necessary to take into account the dynamics of indicators of the cardiovascular, respiratory and other body systems.

Conclusions. From the point of view of the influence of the application of an industrial exoskeleton on the fatigue during production operations similar to the laboratory model of labor activity, it is possible to conclude about the efficiency of the application of an industrial exoskeleton.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was conducted in compliance with the protocol “Research on the safety and efficiency of the application of an industrial exoskeletons «ProEXOLight» и «ProEXOSuperLight»», approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health (protocol No. 1 of the meeting of the Local Ethics Committee dated 25/01/2023) and the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association (as amended 2013) was carried out. All participants gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study.

Contribution:
Shuporin E.S. – concept and design of the study, writing text, editing;
Chudova E.S. – writing text, editing;
Ilyenko O.V. – concept and design of research, writing text;
Vaga I.N., Motkova T.Yu. – collection and processing of material, statistical processing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: March 3, 2025 / Revised: April 8 , 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: July 31, 2025

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