Pui Wah Kong , Ang Hong Koh , Mei Yee Mavis Ho , Muhammad Nur Shahril Iskandar , Cheryl Xue Er Lim
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Load carriage imposes high physical stresses on the human body, increasing the risk of injuries. This study assessed the effectiveness of a passive military exoskeleton in off-loading the weight placed on the body during heavy load carriage under static standing and dynamic walking conditions.
Methods
Eight full-time regular personnel of the Singapore Armed Forces enrolled in the study. Static loading tests included nine trials of 10-s quiet standing while carrying different loads (0–55 kg) with and without the exoskeleton. For dynamic loading, participants walked on a treadmill on flat, inclined, and declined surfaces while carrying two different loads (25 kg, 35 kg) with and without the exoskeleton. In-shoe normal ground reaction forces (GRF) were recorded during quiet standing and treadmill walking. Differences in total force with and without the exoskeleton during static loading were compared using Wilcoxon one-sample signed ranked tests against zero (no weight off-load) as a reference. Statistical parametric mapping test was used to compare the walking in-shoe GRF-time series with and without exoskeleton use for each load and surface condition.
Results
Exoskeleton use was effective in off-loading loads of 2.3–13.5 kg during static quiet standing but the response varied substantially across loads and among the participants. Statistical analysis revealed no meaningful differences in the walking in-shoe GRF with and without exoskeleton use. The results were largely consistent across flat, inclined, and declined surfaces, and both 25-kg and 35-kg loads.
Conclusions
The passive military exoskeleton was effective in off-loading some load from the human body during static quiet standing but not dynamic walking on flat and sloped surfaces. The varied response across loads and participants calls for better design and fitting of the military exoskeleton to individual users.
期刊介绍：
Applied Ergonomics is aimed at ergonomists and all those interested in applying ergonomics/human factors in the design, planning and management of technical and social systems at work or leisure. Readership is truly international with subscribers in over 50 countries. Professionals for whom Applied Ergonomics is of interest include: ergonomists, designers, industrial engineers, health and safety specialists, systems engineers, design engineers, organizational psychologists, occupational health specialists and human-computer interaction specialists.
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