SUPERHUMAN

About the project

The SUPERHUMAN project addresses the challenge of manual operations in the industry, where handling heavy loads and ergonomically unfavourable conditions can increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the back.

The goal is to integrate two existing designs of passive exoskeletons, one for dorsal support and another for hip support. This will achieve effective ergonomic support that enhances the health and safety of workers. It is envisaged that this will be useful for internal logistics, for example, the movement of components from place to place and external logistics, for example, large-scale retail warehouses.

Challenges

The project aims to address the issues related to work-related injuries, in particular, back injuries. Such injuries are among the most significant and common for those working in manual labour. The project will develop an exoskeleton solution to tackle this problem.

Solutions

The project proposes an exoskeleton combining two main technologies: a lower-limbs device (from GOGOA) and a back-support device (from SUPSI). In such a way it will be possible to assist the worker in manual labour undertakings.

Such a prototype will reduce the injury risk in the workplace. Preliminary tests will be performed to evaluate the integrated design of the device at CTAG’s facilities.

In addition, two use cases are involved in the project: Bonfiglioli Riduttori and Sonae/MCH. Workers from both companies will perform evaluation tests to assess the performance of the exoskeleton.

Expected results

The outcome of the project will be twofold:

• a novel exoskeleton integrating the two available technologies for lower-limbs and back support,

• the creation of a startup to exploit the project’s results in the target market.