Speaker
Description
Development of Exo-Suit Based on Textile materials for Manual Lifting
Namyim Kim ・Hyojeong Lee*
College of Natural Sciences, Department of Fashion Design & Merchandising, Kongju National University
Assessing the activity or fatigue level of muscles involved in specific tasks and acting appropriately can help prevent musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study is to develop a soft exo-suit based on textile materials that supports muscle function during manual lifting work and is comfortable to wear. The study included ten male participants in their 20s (height: 173.5±3.6 cm, weight: 70.4±8.3 kg). The suit design considered both functionality and wearability.
The functional aspects considered two movements using a 15 kg weight: lifting and lowering the weight in place (Movement A) and lifting the weight from the ground and placing it on a table, then lowering it back to the ground (Movement B). Electromyography (EMG) measurements were taken using a 16-channel EMG system, an EMG measuring instrument. The muscle activity was evaluated using the Root Mean Squared (RMS) value of the EMG signals. The EMG sensors were attached to the erector spinae, rectus femoris, gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius muscles. The reference electrode was attached to the anterior superior iliac spine Meanwhile, the exo-suit developed a functional and comfortable suit design that considers muscle function, assistance, and wearability. Therefore, a standard male Korean body shape in his 20s was utilized and the Geomagic Design X software created the design lines and extract surface divisions for each panel of the pattern, which were then saved as DXF files. The saved 3D triangle mesh blocks were converted into 2D triangle pieces using Pepakura Designer 3 software, referencing Hong (2020). Afterwards, using Yuka CAD software, the vertices of the triangle pieces were connected, flat patterns of the divided panels were formed based on the design guidelines, and then the flat patterns were combined again to create a circular pattern. Neoprene with a thickness of 2.70mm was used. It had the following properties: 50% rubber, 100% nylon knit and jersey, mesh, and elastic and inelastic materials. The lower extremity supporter was specifically designed to cover the knee using foam to enhance knee stability and torque. A 30mm-high orthotic was created from the center point and inserted into a pocket inside the knee supporter. The evaluation criteria for the developed product were selected based on the study by Francés-Morcillo et al. (2020) and included “ease of dressing and undressing,” “ease of size adjustment,” “size suitability,” “weight suitability,” “ease of movement,” and “wearing comfort.” The evaluations were conducted using a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7, with 1 being “very poor” and 7 “very good.”
As a result of muscle activity evaluation the biceps femoris, gluteus maximus, and erector spinae showed higher muscle activity compared to other muscles during both movements. The product is designed to be worn over work clothes, so participants were instructed to wear 100% cotton training clothes, and perform five consecutive repetitions of movement A and movement B. The evaluation results mean(sd) showed high satisfaction ratings of 6 points or above for all items except for “ease of dressing and undressing” with 5.1 (0.8) points and “size suitability” with 5.8 (0.9) points.
Overall, the product developed yielded high overall satisfaction while being worn over work clothes and performing tasks with weights. Future studies will evaluate the effect of wearing the developed product on muscle function during tasks involving weights.
References
Francés-Morcillo, L., Morer-Camo, P., Rodríguez-Ferradas, M. I., & Cazón-Martín, A. (2020). Wearable design requirements identification and evaluation. Sensors, 20(9), 2599.
This study was supported by NRF-2019R1I1A1A01063314 from the Republic of Korea.
References
Francés-Morcillo, L., Morer-Camo, P., Rodríguez-Ferradas, M. I., & Cazón-Martín, A. (2020). Wearable design requirements identification and evaluation. Sensors, 20(9), 2599.
| Keywords | EMG, Manual Lifting Workers, Soft Exo-suit |
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