Heavy lifting, exhausting overhead work, and awkward positions are just some of the perks of working in construction, but they can also lead to chronic back and shoulder pain for many later in life. One technology that I’ve been following pretty closely in the past few years has been exoskeletons, which promise to alleviate at least some of those problems. At a recent press event, Hilti has thrown their hat into the ring with an exoskeleton announcement of their own.
The Hilti EXO-01 wearable exoskeleton provides relief for work performed at shoulder level and overhead by transferring weight from the arms of the wearer to their hips. The 4-pound device includes shoulder and waist straps, as well as forearm supports. The company states that internal and external research has shown that the exoskeleton can reduce the peak load on muscles and shoulders by up to 47 percent.
Like some other exoskeletons in the marketplace, the EXO-01 does not require external power to provide the support. The weight is transferred from the arms to the hips using a mechanical cable pulling technology.
To develop the technology, Hilti has partnered with Ottobuck, a prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton provider.
“Exoskeletons are an important trend having great relevance for us. They provide relief for physically demanding tasks, such as those performed on construction sites every day. In Ottobock we have the ideal partner to combine our user protection and ergonomics knowledge with 100 years of biomechanical expertise. Our technology partnership will serve as the basis for the development of additional innovative and customer-oriented systems,” explains Johannes Wilfried Huber, Head of Hilti’s Diamond Systems Business Unit, in a press release.
Hilti has made it clear that this is only their first step in providing human augmentation devices and that there will be more to come in the future. In addition to releasing hardware, the company also plans to follow up the rollout with implementation, training, and support services for their customers.
The EXO-01 is expected to launch in the fall of 2020, but pricing has not yet been announced.
"Our innovations have always been fueled by our deep understanding of our customers' challenges and needs, so it's only natural that we can drive innovation with solutions for human augmentation and jobsite automation," said Rafael Garcia, Senior VP and CMO of Hilti North America. "Human augmentation and jobsite automation innovations, alone or combined, will create productivity gains the likes of which haven't been seen since cordless tools got a foothold in commercial construction."
Hilti has been a unique driver of innovation in the tool industry in recent years and the company has been busy investing in startups and other outside-the-box technologies to support the commercial construction industry.
Earlier this year, Hilti acquired Concrete Sensors, an appropriately names concrete maturity sensor company. The company has also developed ON!Track, for asset tracking; PROFIS Engineering, for designing baseplates; PLT 300, for bringing BIM designs to the field; and TraceFast, which are their traceable fasteners that were announced earlier this year at the World of Concrete.
source https://www.constructionjunkie.com/blog/2020/7/26/hilti-announces-new-wearable-exoskeleton-for-tradespeople
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