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Seeing them like this they look like very futuristic armor, something that would not have looked out of place in a film like the Terminator or Robocop. The structures of exoskeletons have improved a lot over the years, to the point of becoming very light but extremely useful supports for those who are often in the same position, standing or sitting, and who lift and move weights of a certain type. Born within the industrial sector, those developed by Comau with the Iuvo division aim to improve the well-being of workers in many sectors, even those furthest from the concept of technology. «Let’s think of veterinarians or farmers, who spend several hours in physically stressful situations» tells us Duilio Amico, CEO of Iuvo and Head of Comau Wearable Robotics. «In Italy the average age of a worker is decidedly high and this is why we must support the life cycle of both young people and older people who are still involved in the professional world. An exoskeleton also has another objective, which is that of inclusiveness. There are roles, those that require a certain physical effort, where women start out at a disadvantage. We can reduce this gap, also in terms of greater opportunities.”
Comau exoskeletons
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There are three exoskeletons that Comau has already launched, with a final example in June, and which today see thousands of applications globally (around 5 thousand units have been activated so far). There is the Mate-Xt upper limb exoskeleton, the Mate-Xt 4.0 version with IoT sensors, and the Mate-Xb lumbar declination. The latter, developed in collaboration with Esselunga, aims to improve the ergonomics of operators who have to manually move loads of up to 25 kilos, through passive assistance to the lumbar muscles used during lifting and handling. For Comau, the benefits are a 35% reduction in the lumbar and lower back area and 50% less fatigue in the lower back. When it came out between 2017 and 2018, Comau’s Mate was already a peculiar device: whereas the others were equipped with actuators and motorized systems to facilitate the movements of the arms or legs, with dimensions and weights that were not exactly small, that of Comau used passive systems without any motorization to assist workers from an exclusively ergonomic point of view. Since then, the Turin automation and robotics group has developed a second version, the Mate-Xt and the third, the 4.0.
Comau, which is part of Stellantis, has a consolidated position in the industrial robotics sector, which currently involves approximately 50% of all robots produced in the world. The growth prospects are good, following what has already been seen in recent years, where exoskeleton sales volumes have grown between 25% and 30% per year. The idea is to engage new segments, also thanks to the partner network. From vehicle production to logistics, through textiles and services, more and more sectors recognize the value of the ergonomic well-being of workers. Iveco, Temi and Codognotto, Barberis Canonico and Ghezzi have already tested the solution.
Moreover, the price of a Comau exoskeleton is not as prohibitive as it seems: it starts from 4,500 euros for a lumbar-only specimen to around 5,400 for one equipped with sensors. A price tag that can also appeal to SMEs, considering the benefit that the workforce can derive from it, even immediately. “Automation and artificial intelligence make us believe that manual tasks will soon disappear, but this is not the case. For a long time to come, there will be people who will have to work based on physicality. We want to support this scenario with what we do best: innovation with man at the centre” concludes Amico.