A Systematic Review of Occupational Shoulder Exoskeletons for Industrial Use: Mechanism Design, Actuators, Control, and Evaluation Aspects

Prolonged awkward arm postures and repetitive tasks in industrial environments can easily lead to worker injuries. The occupational shoulder exoskeleton is a promising solution to reducing the incidence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the shoulder. In general, the device has to be compatible with the human shoulder, which is one of the most complex joints, thus posing significant challenges in existing efforts to design occupational shoulder exoskeletons. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of exoskeletons designed to support human shoulders and arms in industrial applications. Recent developments and advancements in mechanism design, actuators, and control aspects are discussed in detail. A brief overview of the evaluation (i.e., participants, task design, objective, and subjective assessment) is also reported, and the experiment protocol to assess performance is summarized. Finally, existing challenges and possible future research directions for occupational shoulder exoskeletons are provided.