Towards Standard Exoskeleton Test Methods for Load Handling

Exoskeletons are now being marketed by several manufacturers and yet there are currently no standard test methods to compare exoskeletons ^{3 3} Disclaimer: Commercial equipment, software, and materials are identified in order to adequately specify certain procedures. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the materials, equipment, or software are necessarily the best available for the purpose. to tasks. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been a key contributor to the formation of a new ASTM F48 standards committee on exoskeletons and has a project to research measurement science and test method developments in support of exoskeleton standards. This paper describes the NIST exoskeleton project efforts for one of several ongoing research areas (i.e., load handling) that targets typical industrial tasks. The paper will describe the design of the NIST Position and Load Test Apparatus for Exoskeletons (PoLoTAE), a reconfigurable testbed and its use within a NIST internal review board (IRB) study. Experimental results from the first load handling test described suggest potential significance of using the exoskeleton to alleviate physical exertion to the human with respect to gender, anthropometry, and fit. The potential capability of the exoskeleton test apparatus and methodology in simulating industrial tasks is positively indicated by the initial experiment. Lastly, future tests are outlined to improve the test methodology.