Guiding humans towards ergonomic postures using an active exoskeleton

Abstract

In the past decades, active exoskeletons have been dedicated to reducing human effort, in particular to assist workers in occupational environments. However, this approach does not promote the learning of more ergonomic postures by workers, which is critical for the long-term prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. Alternatively, we propose to use exoskeletons as biofeedback systems, generating task-relevant perturbations guiding users towards ergonomic postures. To test this approach, participants performed reach-to-hold movements towards a redundant target, allowing multiple final postures. We then introduced vibrations with posture-dependent intensity, generating a sensorimotor disturbance that canceled out either above or below each participants nominal preferred posture. Interestingly, participants adapted to minimize the vibrations, whether it increased or decreased the gravity efforts, and retained the novel posture when it induced lower effort. Finally, all participants significantly reduced effort post-exposure, demonstrating the feasibility and the benefits of using exoskeleton as biofeedback systems to improve posture.