Auxivo, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), is launching a combined back and shoulder exoskeleton named OmniSuit. It supports users to lift loads from the floor and place them on the highest shelf. According to a company press release, this makes it a useful solution in a range of industries, including logistics, maintenance, manufacture, construction, cleaning and agriculture.
Overall, OmniSuit helps to reduce workload and fatigue and improve worker comfort, by using gravity compensation. For example, the company says the exoskeleton can reduce shoulder muscle load by over 40 per cent during overhead assembly work, and back muscle load by over 30 per cent during forward-leaning activities.
“The main challenge developing the OmniSuit was that overhead work and lifting activities require a large vertical range of motion for both the upper and the lower extremities,” explains Rachel van Sluijs, Head of Research at the start-up, which is based in Schwerzenbach in the canton of Zurich. Consequently, the Auxivo team had to design an exoskeleton that provides good support during both activities without restricting its users.
Auxivo says the OmniSuit design is patent pending, and the first deliveries are due to be made in the second half of October. ce/ssp
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