Measuring the Effect of a Powered Ankle Exoskeleton on Directed Attention

Exoskeletons are a wearable technology that augment users’ mobility; however, our understanding of their influence on navigational decisions is limited. Street crossing is a navigational task requiring adequate situation awareness, which includes directed attention—the deliberate act of concentration. Evaluating whether exoskeletons affect users’ directed attention is beneficial because this technology intends to support wearers performing other activities. This study evaluated whether the Dephy ExoBoot affected head directions, a surrogate for directed attention, at a simulated traffic intersection. Adults without mobility limitations approached the intersection on a self-paced treadmill and made crossing decisions with and without the exoskeleton. A Linear Mixed Effects (LME) model did not support consistent influences of the exoskeleton on head direction across participants. A cluster analysis of head-direction percentages supported sex- and height-specific strategies for environmental scanning. Methods assessing how exoskeletons impact attention enable designs that afford users sufficient cognitive resources to perform other tasks.