The Impact of Human-Robot Collaboration Levels on Postural Stability During Working Tasks Performed While Standing: Experimental Study

Increased cobot assistance significantly enhances postural stability and reduces biomechanical load on workers during simulated tasks. Full assistance from cobots, in particular, minimizes postural displacements, indicating more consistent postural control improvements across individuals. However, high levels of cobot intervention also reduced the natural variation in how people balanced themselves. This could potentially lead to discomfort in the long run. Midlevel cobot assistance modalities can thus be considered as a good compromise in reducing biomechanical risks associated with postural stability at the same time granting a satisfactory level of user control.