A study of the kinematic effects of a passive exoskeleton on the upper limb during handling and lifting

Exoskeletons have shown important application potential in assisting physical labor and reducing joint burden. As a typical task in physical labor, the research on the kinematic impact of handling is of great significance for the optimal design and practical application of exoskeleton. This study constructed three typical warehouse task scenarios—1.4 m handling, 1.8 m handling, and lifting—and analyzed the kinematic parameters, including joint angles and angular velocities, of eight male university students performing these tasks with and without exoskeleton, using a motion capture system. The results revealed that with exoskeleton significantly reduced the range of motion at the hip, elbow, and knee joints, and decreased the peak angular velocity of the elbow joint during the 1.8 m handling task and the peak angular velocity of the hip joint during the lifting task. However, no significant effects were observed on the mean angular velocities of the joints. These findings indicate that the passive exoskeleton limits the range of motion of the joint to a certain extent, but does not significantly affect the movement speed, and its adaptability in high dynamic tasks still needs to be improved. In the future, exoskeleton design should pay more attention to the adaptation of joint biomechanical properties, optimize flexibility and adaptability, and further evaluate the potential impact of long-term wear on joint health, so as to promote its promotion and development in practical application scenarios.