FW-HTF-P: Collaborative Research: Exoskeleton-Assisted Worker Performance Augmentation in Construction

在美国，每年花费数十亿美元在与工作相关的伤害上，而建筑行业的工人更有可能报告健康状况不佳和严重疼痛，因为他们从事高要求的体力工作，并在恶劣的工作环境中面临高受伤风险。推广外骨骼和外骨骼(统称为EXOS)的使用有望缓解这种情况。然而，关于EXO技术、工人和他们因使用EXOS而进行的工作的几个基本问题还没有得到很好的回答，包括“哪些指标、标准和评估程序可以用来科学地衡量EXO技术在建筑工作场所的表现？”“这些测量如何有助于塑造未来EXO产品的发展？”“帮助减少潜在磨损风险的最佳实践和策略是什么？”以及“如何改变工作组织和模式以适应EXOS的使用？”要回答这些问题，需要协同多学科的专业知识，以培养融合的研究能力。这项研究将推进工人-EXO-建筑前沿的知识基础，以提高劳动力生产率，降低工伤风险，扩大劳动力参与，并延长建筑工人的职业预期寿命。这个未来工作在人类-技术前沿(FW-HTF)规划研究项目的目标是调查佩戴EXOS对建筑行业工人未来的影响。PIS计划分三个阶段进行以人为中心的调查，以实现这一目标。首先，由PIS领导的研究小组将对三个建筑行业(石膏板安装工、水管工和工人)现有的EXO产品进行现场评估，并收集他们对长期使用EXOS完成施工任务的反馈。其次，研究团队将与工会、建筑承包商和NIOSH研究科学家合作，为未来的完整研究项目设计一系列工作研究，以了解和确定如何改变常规的行业工作组织和模式，以最大限度地提高穿戴EXOS的好处，并将其对工人的副作用降至最低。第三，PIS将组织一个为期一天半的研讨会，与学术研究人员、行业专家和政府官员分享初步结果和发现，并制定重要的研究问题和假设，以开发完整的FW-HTF研究项目。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Billions of dollars per year are spent on workplace-related injuries in the U.S., while construction trade workers are more likely to report poor health and severe pain due to undertaking demanding physical work and facing a high risk of injuries in poor working environments. Promoting the use of exoskeletons and exosuits (collectively called EXOs) is expected to alleviate this situation. However, several fundamental questions regarding the EXO technology, the workers, and their work due to the use of EXOs have not been well answered yet, including “what are the indicators, criteria, and assessment procedures that could be used to measure the performance of the EXO technology scientifically in construction workplaces?”, “how could these measurements help to shape the development of EXO products in the future?”, “what are the best practices and strategies to help to reduce potential wearing risks?”, and “how are the work organizations and modes changed to fit the use of EXOs?” To answer these questions, it requires synergizing multidisciplinary expertise that fosters convergent research capacity. This research will advance the knowledge base of the worker-EXO-construction frontiers for enhancing workforce productivity, reducing the risk of work-related injuries, broadening workforce participation, and extending the career life expectancy of the construction workforce.The objective of this Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (FW-HTF) planning research project is to investigate the impacts of wearing EXOs for the future of construction trade workers. The PIs plan to conduct human-centered investigations in three thrusts to accomplish this objective. First, the research team led by the PIs will conduct field evaluations of existing EXO products for three construction trades (drywall installer, plumber, and laborer) and collect their feedbacks about wearing EXOs to complete construction tasks for a long period. Second, the research team will work with trade unions, construction contractors, and NIOSH research scientists and design a series of work studies for the future full research project to learn and identify how routine trade work organizations and modes could be changed to maximize the benefits of wearing EXOs and minimize their side effects on the workers. Third, the PIs will organize a one-and-a-half-day workshop to share the initial results and findings with academic researchers, industrial experts, and government officials and formulate important research questions and hypotheses for developing a full FW-HTF research project.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.