Abstract：
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) significantly impact workers in the manufacturing and construction sectors. One solution that has gained interest to reduce MSDs incidence is the use of exoskeletons. In this study, the influence of an upper limb exoskeleton on muscle activity was investigated experimentally for three commonly performed tasks in the manufacturing and construction sectors. The tasks tested were overhead assembly, bricklaying, and box moving tasks. Eighteen males participated in the tests. The results showed a reduction in shoulder flexor muscle activation during all three tasks (up to -45.46 ± 4.52% for the anterior deltoid), but increased extensor activation (up to 15.47 ± 8.01% for the latissimus dorsi) was observed when the task was not primarily performed above shoulder level. The results revealed the dependence of the upper-body exoskeleton on tasks and arm posture, which should be considered for both in-field applications and designing new exoskeletons for performance enhancement.
摘要：
肌肉骨骼疾病（MSD）显着影响制造业和建筑业的工人。已获得减少MSD发生率的兴趣的一个解决方案是使用外骨骼。在这项研究中,在制造业和建筑业中，对上肢外骨骼对肌肉活动的影响进行了实验研究。测试的任务是高架组装，砌砖,和框移动任务。18名男性参加了测试。结果显示，在所有三项任务中，肩屈肌激活均减少（前三角肌高达-45.46±4.52％），但是，当任务主要不是在肩部水平以上执行时，观察到伸肌激活增加（背阔肌高达15.47±8.01％）。结果显示上半身外骨骼对任务和手臂姿势的依赖性，这应该被考虑用于现场应用和设计新的外骨骼以增强性能。
