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

在美国，每年有数十亿美元花费在与工作场所有关的伤害上，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，因为他们从事体力劳动，在恶劣的工作环境中面临着很高的受伤风险。推广外骨骼和外骨骼服（统称为exo）的使用有望缓解这种情况。然而，关于EXO技术、工人及其使用EXO的工作的几个基本问题尚未得到很好的回答，包括“可用于科学衡量EXO技术在建筑工作场所性能的指标、标准和评估程序是什么？”，“这些测量如何帮助塑造EXO产品未来的发展？”、“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exo的使用？”为了回答这些问题，它需要协同多学科专业知识，以促进融合的研究能力。本研究将推进工人- exo -建筑前沿的知识库，以提高劳动力生产率，降低工伤风险，扩大劳动力参与，延长建筑劳动力的职业预期寿命。人类技术前沿（FW-HTF）未来工作规划研究项目的目标是调查佩戴exo对建筑行业工人未来的影响。为了实现这一目标，检察机关计划分三个阶段进行以人为中心的调查。首先，由pi领导的研究小组将对现有的EXO产品进行现场评价，并在3个建筑行业（干墙安装工、水管工、工人）中收集长期佩戴EXO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，为未来的全面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贸易工作组织和模式，以最大限度地提高穿着exo的好处，并最大限度地减少其对工人的副作用。第三，pi将组织一个为期一天半的研讨会，与学术研究人员、工业专家和政府官员分享初步结果和发现，并为发展一个完整的FW-HTF研究项目制定重要的研究问题和假设。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.