A physical aid, which limits fatigue and contributes to maintain a correct position while making an effort: We tried the exoskeleton Comau Mate-xtwhich helps workers carry out operations with less physical effort.
For some years Comau, an international giant specialized in the development of e advanced products for industrial automationis moving away from its core automotive business in areas where its robotic solutions can be crucial for the health and well-being of workers: “We are talking about logistics, large-scale retail trade, manufacturing, but also professional cleaning, shipbuilding, film sets, care for bedridden patients, agriculture: all sectors in which those who work make efforts – he comments Duilio Amico, head of wearable technologies at Comau -. Exoskeletons are ideal solutions for strenuous tasks or tasks carried out in non-ergonomic positions.”
Proof
We tried Mate-xt, the device created for those who work with particular strain on their arms and shoulders.
We lifted a suitcase placed on a counter and the feeling is of having someone helping to lift it, which supports the arms and reduces the effort. In fact, Mate-xt is designed precisely to reduce the feeling of muscular tiredness of workers and, consequently, the mechanical stress on the backin the lumbar area, the back and the arms.
It was designed by spin-off companies of the university Sant’Anna High School, of which the Comau Group holds a majority share. “The idea is not to replace work, but to accompany it. Not to allow people to lift heavier weights but to help do the work he has always done. They are passive devices that help, they don’t make you lift heavier weights than you could but you arrive at the end of the day much less tired”, comments Amico.
From numerous usage data collected directly in the field it has been demonstrated that the Mate-xt exoskeleton can reduce muscle activity and perceived effort at shoulder level by 30%, as reported by over 50% of workers, who observed positive improvements in the quality of their work. The Comau exoskeleton can also help increase work precision by 27% and improve productivity by approximately 10%, with a reduction in cycle times of at least 5%.
Mate-xb in Comau, developed in collaboration with Iuvo and Esselunga, is a wearable exoskeleton designed to support the lower back, the lumbar, during bending and lifting activities. Based on an electromyographic analysis, the wearable robotic device reduces biomechanical risk by 50%, while maintaining muscle engagement equal to a resting state in 98.5% of activity time.
In addition to Esselunga also the port of Livorno has started a pilot study with Iuvo and Comau to test the benefits of Mate exoskeletons to support its workers.
In Brazil John Deere uses numerous Mate-xt exoskeletons to further facilitate the ergonomics of its employees, with a view to sustainability.
In South America Comau exoskeletons are used to respond to the shortage of workers in the mines: “Thanks to our exoskeletons – specifies Amico – women are also starting to work as miners, solving two problems at the same time: the shortage of workers in the sector and female unemployment”.