GERMAN Bionic’s fifth-generation Cray X fits on workers like a 7kg backpack with hip-mounted actuators that move carbon fiber linkages strapped to the upper legs, allowing a person to easily lift and walk with up to 30kg with both their legs and backs fully supported.

Though it doesn’t actively assist the person’s shoulders and arms with the task, the Cray X does offer a Smart Safety Companion (SSC) system to help mitigate common lifting injuries.

“It’s a real-time software application that runs in the background and can warn the worker when the ergonomic risk is getting too high,” said Norma Steller, German Bionic’s head of IoT. “For example, recommending a break because the overall stress can lead to fatigue and injuries.”

The SSC not only collects granular telemetry information — what load is being lifted, ergonomic risks such as twisting while lifting, and potential environmental factors — it uses a machine learning algorithm to analyze that data to adapt the exoskeleton to the worker wearing it via over-the-air software updates.

Not only is this data displayed to the workers themselves on an attached monitor, the Cray X also transmits that data up the supervisory chain allowing managers to monitor the movements of their employees to ensure that they are not overexerting themselves.

The data the Cray X collects is gathered from real-world use, not lab tests or supervised trials where workers are on their best ergonomic behavior. “Especially in logistics, every single step, every single lift, every single trend is usually planned. But sometimes in the real world, not every plan comes to fulfillment and then we suddenly see workplace performance drop very quickly. And with the data we provide, you can actually do an investigation and figure out why that drop off is occurring.”

Steller sees the Cray X as a “preventative device” designed to ensure workers don’t overextend or overexert themselves. As such, the Cray X is IP54 rated for dust and moisture so it can work in all but the dingiest of warehouse environments.

Though the Cray X is designed to be put on and taken off in under a minute, it can be worn for up to a full work shift without being removed thanks to the new hot-swappable 40V battery system. Marius Kiss, head of Mechanical R&D at German Bionic, said, “You can pull out the spent battery for a new one, place the old one on the charger — we use the Makita fast charging stations which charge the battery in like 30 to 40 minutes and then you can just move on. You could potentially work like eight hours without having to take off the exoskeleton.”

Eric Eitel, German Bionic’s Head of Communications, believes exoskeletons will likely remain a common sight in industrial settings. “There are still a lot of workspaces that cannot be automated and I think that’s going to stay like that for a long time. You still have to rely on people so we don’t want to replace all the humans. I really see that technology is going alongside automation.”

(SD-Agencies)