Pneumatically Actuated Soft Wearable Exoskeleton for Upper Limb Motion Rehabilitation; The Perception of Wearable Devices in the Workplace

As wearable devices become more integrated into daily life, their success depends not only on how well they work, but on how well they fit into the lives of users. For our capstone project, my team developed a wearable upper-limb exoskeleton for shoulder rehabilitation, using pneumatic artificial muscles and a joystick-controlled solenoid system. The goal was to create a device that’s practical, easy to use at home, and helpful for people recovering from shoulder injuries without needing constant clinical visits. Alongside that, my STS research explored how wearable devices are perceived in manual labor industries, where injuries like work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are especially common. Using the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) framework, I analyzed how workers, employers, and the public interpreted these technologies. While many recognized their safety benefits, concerns about comfort, stigma, and cost often limited acceptance. This research showed that the success of wearable devices relies not just on strong technical performance, but also on their ability to meet users’ social and practical needs.