IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2020 - 73

weight, participants also complained about the dimensions
of the exoskeleton, hindering natural arm-swinging while
walking. In addition to a decrease in performance, walking coincided with the highest discomfort levels, suggesting that a decrease in weight and dimension could help
reduce discomfort in this task. In general, discomfort levels were low but showed high variability, indicating that
perceived comfort of the device is highly subjective.
The remaining tasks of the group for assessing potential hindrance and range of motion were not affected by

exoskeleton use. Regarding subjective performance, those tasks
were not perceived as more difficult, and the local discomfort
in the lower back did not change. These findings imply little
hindrance during tasks that do not involve high loads on the
back. This is important as those tasks exist in most working
environments. Hence, versatility in using this exoskeleton for a
variety of working tasks is deemed important. The "good" to
"very good" user impression score on "interference with tasks"
confirms that the current device meets this requirement. Limited versatility was found to be a drawback of one currently

Change in Local Discomfort in the Lower Back
10

With
Without

9

VAS Local Discomfort (cm)

8
7
6
5
4
3
2

No
Discomfort

1
0

(a)

Lifting

12

Carrying Static
Static Walking
Sit
Stair
Ladder Rotation Squatting Bending Wide
Forward Threeto
Climbing Climbing
Forward Stance
Bending Point
Stand
Kneeling

10
Difference in Local Discomfort (cm)

Maximum
Discomfort

Healthy
Pain

8

Positive
Effect

6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
-8

Negative
Effect
(b)

-10
Figure 4. (a) Boxplots of change in discomfort in the lower back for the various tasks. The horizontal red lines represent the sample
medians. The distances between the tops and bottoms of the boxes are the interquartile ranges. Dotted lines extending above
and below boxes show the minimum and maximum values, including outliers. An increase represents a negative effect and a
decrease a positive effect. (b) Boxplots showing the difference in local discomfort between the control and exoskeleton condition
in the subgroup's healthy participants compared to participants with LBP ("Pain"). The asterisks indicate significant change in local
discomfort between the exoskeleton (with) and control condition (without).

MARCH 2020

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IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

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73



IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2020

Contents
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2020 - Cover1
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