Design and Implementation Requirements for Increased Acceptance of Occupational Exoskeletons in an Industrial Context: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Occupational exoskeletons are not yet frequently used at work. Previous research has indicated multiple factors (physiological, implementation-related, work-related, policy, and psycho-social) that can explain this lack of adoption. However, there is a lack of specific requirements related to these themes to improve exoskeletons and their adoption. Therefore, the goal of our research is to formulate concrete requirements for the design and implementation of exoskeletons. We used a design ethnography approach (focus groups, an interview, observations, surveys, and group interviews) with multiple stakeholders (users, designers, and potential future users). Our data suggest that potential future users of exoskeletons believe that existing exoskeletons should be improved to be adopted. Exoskeletons should be more comfortable to wear and flexible enough to support a wider range of tasks. We have formulated 49 requirements for occupational exoskeletons, and we validated and extended an existing framework. Our work encourages the improved design of future or existing exoskeletons.

Keywords:

• Exoskeleton
• user requirement
• design ethnography
• acceptance
• qualitative research

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the participants for their contributions to this research. We also would like to thank Lennert Vierendeels for engaging companies to participate in our research. We thank Aya Seif Eddin for transcribing the focus groups and help with moderating them. This research was conducted as part of the EU Sophia project and funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (H2020-ICT-2019-2/2019-2023) under grant agreement No. 871237, and as part of euROBIN, which was funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework Program (grant number 101070596). It was also partially funded by Strategic Research Program 77, entitled Exercise and the Brain in Health and Disease: The Added Value of Human-Centered Robotics. The focus groups were commissioned by Carglass, Daikin and DEME-Group.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://www.laevo-exoskeletons.com/flex

2 https://www.skelex.com/skelex-360-xfr/

3 https://germanbionic.com/en/solutions/exoskeletons/crayx/

4 All citations were translated from Dutch to English, and they were slightly modified to increase readability.

5 Given the EU’s Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC), average working time for each seven day period cannot exceed 48 hours in all EU Member States. With the assumption of working 4–7 days per week, this would result in an average of 7–12 h of working per day (https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=706&langId=en&intPageId=205). Work hours in the United States vary depending on the profession. Considering the work hours of nurses as regulated by the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act of 2004, the guideline would result in 12 h of working per day (https://www.osha.gov/worker-fatigue/limitations).

6 Subjective threshold according to Moyon et al. (2020)

7 https://survey.tno.nl/chyyhrqdjw?l=en

8 https://statbel.fgov.be/nl/themas/werk-opleiding/arbeidsmarkt/beroepen-belgie#figures

9 https://exoskeletonreport.com/product-category/exoskeleton-catalog/industrial/

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (H2020-ICT-2019-2/ 2019-2023) [101070596]; European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (H2020-ICT-2019-2/ 2019-2023) [871237]; European Commission ICT-48 2020 [101070596]; Strategic Research Program 77 entitled Exercise and the Brain in Health and Disease: The Added Value of Human-Centered Robotics.

Notes on contributors

Shirley A. Elprama

Shirley A. Elprama is a senior researcher and PhD student at imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Her PhD focuses on the acceptance of exoskeletons at work.

Sander De Bock

Sander De Bock obtained his PhD in Movement and Sport Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2022. His research focuses on the interaction between humans and assistive technologies.

Romain Meeusen

Romain Meeusen is professor in Human Movement Science at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He obtained his PhD in Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences at VUB in 1996.

Kevin De Pauw

Kevin De Pauw is Professor in Human Movement Science at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Vice-President of BruBotics. He obtained his PhD in Human Movement Science at VUB in 2014.

Bram Vanderborght

Bram Vanderborght obtained his PhD from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2007. Since 2009 he has been a Professor at VUB. He is affiliated to the Interuniversity Microelectronics Institute (IMEC), Belgium, as scientific collaborator.

An Jacobs

An Jacobs is a Professor in Communication Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Vice-President of BruBotics. She obtained her PhD in Sociology at the University of Ghent in 2005.