Positive Effect Study of a Passive Waist-Assistive Exoskeleton on Human Muscle Activity and Stability

Investigating effects of waist-assistive exoskeleton on human muscle activity and stability can not only help human to carry heavy objects easier and safer, but also promote the development of wearable robotic devices. To this end, this paper dedicates to studying positive impacts of a passive waist-assistive exoskeleton on human muscle activation and movement stability via experimental technology under carrying task. During the experiment studying, four subjects are recruited to carry different objects under three different tasks. The experimental results show that muscle activations of the left and right thorax thoracic erector spinaes of each subject are generally reduced around 10%. Also, the experimental results confirm that the root mean square (RMS) of the center of pressure (COP) of each subject is averagely reduced about 8% and movement trend of each subject’s trunk has become smoother and more stable.