Investigating the Impact of a Back-Support Exoskeleton on Ergonomic Aspects of Order-Picking

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS: We investigated the impact of wearing a passive back-support exoskeleton on posture, task duration, and subjective feedback during order-picking tasks. Participants performed a simulated and repetitive picking task both with and without the exoskeleton, using a randomized placebo methodology to investigate the psychological effect of the exoskeleton. Our findings indicate that, while the exoskeleton may offer certain physical benefits, it could also negatively affect task execution time and lead to less favorable subjective feedback from workers. Our results can help practitioners in the evaluation of exoskeletons for in-field applications, since we demonstrate that this exoskeleton has the potential to reduce physical strain, but it can negatively impact execution time and workers’ satisfaction.