Automatic Posture and Balance Support for Supernumerary Robotic Limbs

It is well-known from the biomechanics and ergonomics research that material handling tasks in industry can often cause harmful working postures, potentially leading to musculoskeletal disorders and occupational injuries. Wearable robotic systems like supernumerary (additional) robotic limbs augment human bodies with extra mobility and manipulation capabilities, and they can increase the efficiency when conducting bulky material handling tasks and allow older workers to maintain their jobs. This project aims to create novel techniques to address ergonomics and safety of supernumerary robotic limbs. A novel posture and balance support wearable robotic system will be created and its control will be integrated with the supernumerary robotic limbs for material handling. The scope of the project is to study how the ergonomics of the supernumerary limbs for material handling can be improved through additional back and balance support. The implementation will be based on creating and using innovative mechatronic technologies (soft robotic actuation and sensing; light-weight cable-driven active mechanisms; haptic feedback; human-centred interactive control) and posture assessment and data processing methods (distributed wireless sensing; Cloud data storage; personalised machine-learning based data analysis and decision-making). The outcomes of the projects will have direct impacts on the UK manufacturing, logistics and agriculture industries (>15% of GDP, employing more than 10 million people), through development and evaluation of efficient and safe material handling robotic assistive technologies.

The primary goal of this project is to develop and validate novel user-centred devices and control methods to enable safe, comfortable and efficient material handling tasks by workers assisted by wearable supernumerary robotic limbs. The project will have wide impacts across manufacturing and logistics industries, robotics and ergonomics research and development. The assistive robotic system proposed in the project will improve the operator's working conditions with long-term health benefits. The quality of material handling operations will be improved as well, leading to increased productivity and reduced costs. Impact beneficiaries include industry workers performing material handling tasks; industries such as manufacturing and logistics; policymakers in industrial automation; society and healthcare providers; the general public; researchers in assistive robotics and automation.
Workers in industry. The proposed ergonomic support system for supernumerary robotic limbs will monitor and adjust the workers' posture 1) to maintain their physical well-being and 2) to reduce their workload and fatigue.

Businesses. Business in which complete automation is not possible due to the complexity of the tasks and/or high costs of autonomous robots will benefit by introducing the resultant robotic assistance system. The proposed system will improve productivity by helping to handle larger and heavier materials with less effort, time, cost and reduced risk to health and safety.

Healthcare providers. The proposed system will improve the working conditions of workers. It will reduce risks of work-related accidents and provide long term ergonomic support to maintain a healthy posture. Healthcare providers will benefit from the long-term advantages of using the resultant assistive robotics system. The risk of development of medical disorders such as back pain will be reduced.

Local communities and society in general. The proposed ergonomics assistance system will benefit workers of older age. Currently, many older workers in industry risk losing their jobs because it might get more difficult and tiring for their bodies to perform physical tasks. The posture and balance support system created in the project will help workers of older age to perform their tasks efficiently, and therefore it will support their employment and provide stable financial income.

Policymakers. The adoption of assistive robotics and technologies in industry is an important topic for business and economy policymakers in the UK. This project will demonstrate the advantages of such technologies and bring forward a specific application case of assisted material handling.

General public. The interest of the general public in modern technologies including robotics is growing rapidly. This project will serve as an excellent example of how assistive robots can be beneficial to businesses and workers to perform their jobs more efficiently, safer and healthier. Demonstrations of the proposed system will motivate the interest of young people in studying and working with advanced research and engineering.

Researchers in assistive robotics and automation will be able to learn from the project. The project will contribute to several challenging areas of study in human-robot interaction, robot control and design, and ergonomics. A new research topic - ergonomics of supernumerary robotic limbs will be established. Novel techniques and evaluation methods will be created for supporting healthy posture, stability and efficiency in material handling tasks assisted with supernumerary robotic limbs. The results of the project will be made available through open access publications, datasets and media reports.