Arlington, TX — Engineers from the University of Texas at Arlington claim 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.”…