Towards inclusive design of assistive technologies through the uses of wearable sensors and artificial intelligence

外骨骼在许多行业中支撑工人的背部，手臂和肩膀，可以降低职业伤害的风险，从而提高生产力。然而，目前的模型不适合超过一半的加拿大工作人口，因为许多加拿大工人的体型和功能能力与外骨骼设计的人不同。 这项研究的长期愿景是开发技术，使辅助设备，如外骨骼适合更广泛的用户。在最初的五年里，这项研究将结合用户的生物力学和代谢特征来设计被动背部支撑外骨骼。 这项研究有具体的目标：首先，我们将开发新的协议来表征用户的物理需求，即，身体运动学、肌肉活动和心脏负荷，分别使用惯性测量单元、肌电图和心率监测器。其次，我们将建立一个逆动力学模型来计算肌肉，关节和脊柱上的负载与人体运动学和人体测量数据。然后，我们将预测最佳外骨骼参数为用户的肌肉，热和精神负荷，将人工智能融入数字人体建模。第三，我们将对特定人群进行案例研究，以收集外骨骼设计的数据。拟议的研究将通过推进以用户为中心的辅助设备设计方法，使其适合更广泛的人群，从而为自然科学和工程学做出贡献。开发预防伤害的工具将通过改善工作条件和确保稳定的劳动力来造福社会和经济。

Exoskeletons, supporting workers' backs, arms, and shoulders in many industries, may reduce the risk of occupational injuries and, thus, improve productivity. However, current models are inappropriate for more than half of the Canadian working population because many Canadian workers have different body types and functional capabilities from those for whom exoskeletons were designed. The long-term vision of this research is to develop techniques to make assistive devices like exoskeletons suitable for a broader range of users. In the first five years, this research will incorporate the user's biomechanical and metabolic characteristics into designing a passive back support exoskeleton. There are specific objectives in this research: First, we will develop new protocols to characterize users' physical demands, i.e., body kinematics, muscle activity, and cardiac loads, using inertial measurement units, electromyography and heart rate monitors, respectively. Second, we will create an inverse dynamics model to calculate loads on muscles, joints, and spinal column with the human body kinematics and anthropometry data. Then we will predict optimal exoskeleton parameters for the users' muscular, thermal and mental loads, incorporating artificial intelligence into digital human modelling. Third, we will conduct a case study on a specific population to gather data for the exoskeleton design. The proposed research will contribute to the natural sciences and engineering by advancing user-centred methods for designing assistive devices, making them suitable and accessible to a broader population. Developing tools that prevent injuries will benefit society and the economy by improving working conditions and ensuring a stable workforce.