Wearing robotics prevents bad posture

        In the market for personal protective equipment there are several types of vest for workers who need to lift weights. But it seems that none of them is perfect: the workers complain about the lack of comfort, while the doctors ask greater levels of protection. The staff of the Institute of Production Systems, Germany, believed to have come to a compromise. They created a vest with active actuators that stiffen when the user begins to move from the ideal posture. Thus, the employee does not need to use a tight personal protective equipment too, which draws its mobility and bother, and not be subject to greater risks due to poor posture.

       According to the team, the vest uses the concept of "soft robotics", creating an authentic orthopedic prosthesis for preventive use. According to Dr. Henning Schmitz, responsible for the design, all necessary electronics, including sensors and actuators are embedded in the material. Sensors monitor all user's movement, while a processor compares the data in real time with a pattern of fine movements. The energy required for the machine to operate comes from the worker himself: when he bends to lift a weight, your machine stores the kinetic energy, which is then released when it is needed.

Figure 1. Wearing robotics

By Rosana Ribeiro