TTAEKCESH TNHOE SLTORGAIYN
Exoskeletons are by no
10
means new. Indeed, the first
one was designed in 1965
for military purposes. What
is relatively new, however, is their
adoption in industry. Since 1965, in
fact, exoskeletons have started to
become increasingly popular in the
manufacturing world, supporting
workers and improving the quality
of their working hours.
In 2018 more than 7,000 units
were sold in manufacturing (ABI
Research data), but the potential
market need would be 60,000 units
for all types of exoskeleton, with an
estimated growth rate of more than
50% from 2019 to 2024. A trend that,
taking into account the increasing
average age of population in
industrialised countries, could grow
again.
Although some of the work in
factories is automated, human input
is still crucial and remains at the
heart of many operations, including
value-added and repetitive ones,
but which require a high level
of precision: for example, a
worker lifts his arm 4,600
times a day, almost a million
times a year to perform
some tasks.
For this reason,
there have been
a number of
developments
in this field.
In late 2019,
for instance,
Nissan Spain
completed
the testing
phase of a
pioneering exoskeleton project
before integration into production
lines at Barcelona’s Zona Franca
plant. The external exoskeleton
devices help reduce the stresses
normally placed on the muscles of
line workers by up to 60%, lowering
the risk of work-related injuries and
enhancing overall wellbeing.
The Catalan Automotive Industry
Cluster (CIAC) is sponsoring the
project to introduce exoskeletons
into the automotive industry, with
the Eurecat Technology Centre
and the Polytechnic University of
Catalonia (UPC) also taking part.
Nissan Spain facilitated
the extensive testing of the
exoskeletons in a real production
setting, trialling five different
models that support the legs,
shoulders and back since the
start of 2018. Feedback from
the 14 participating employees
helped Nissan identify the two
models offering the lowest weight,
highest level of and best
performance.
These two
models, further
tested between
May and July 2019, provide
optimum shoulder support for
workers performing overhead tasks
during a significant percentage
of their shift. Made of light alloy
materials, the futuristic devices
weigh between 1.5 and 3 kilograms.
Nissan uses a lot of additional
techniques to lighten the load on
workers. In some plants, workers sit
on “ergo-chairs” attached to robot
arms, letting them enter vehicle
cabins quickly and
effortlessly. In some
cases, Nissan has
even redesigned
vehicles themselves
to make them easier
for workers to build.
All of these
initiatives
are based on
Nissan’s firm
belief that the
cars of the
future, no matter
how complex,
must be built
by humans.
While it may be hard not to see them as
something from science fiction, exoskeletons
are proving incredibly valuable in real-world
applications in industry and elsewhere.
Above: The
exoskeletons in use at
Nissan Spain
Below: The MATE-XT
exoskeleton from
Comau
FEBRUARY 2021
COVER STORY | EXOSKELETONS