The new robotic suits developed by Esselunga could guarantee employees less effort in transporting heavy objects, therefore more efficiency and less physical damage.
Esselunga tests the ROBOT SUIT for employees: will it be the uniform of the future?
# Robotics and health
Esselunga together with Comau, an Italian company specializing in industrial automation, and Iuvo, a project initiated by the University of Pisa, designs wearable robotic supports for workers. The final purpose is to increase productivity by making the work of those who carry weights more agile and safe and often suffer damage to the lumbar part of the vertebral structure. Comau makes use of technology to support human physical work, paying attention to the health and well-being of workers. The suits will be tested with the aim of starting a future in which machines will be at the service of man to ensure his safety and greater efficiency.
# The experiment
At the head of the experiment is Comau, which will be in charge of the production of an exoskeleton for lumbar support at an engineering level, while Iuvo will take care of its construction and development, testing its wearable robotic technology. Esselunga will have the role of tester, testing the structure through trial periods: the testing of the first prototypes will begin with 2022 while the exoskeletal test for employees will begin in the second quarter of the year. Esselunga’s support is essential for Comau, the tests carried out by the Milanese food distribution giant give, in fact, the possibility of confirming the company’s ability to carry out the mission of facilitating work and human health through technological expedients.
# Technology at the service of health
Esselunga’s exoskeleton for workers is a project designed by Comau to reduce physical effort and the sensation of fatigue perceived by workers, reducing the impact that manual and repetitive operations have on the human body structure. The study of these technologies includes robotic technology but also the biological-mechanical aspect of the human organism’s capabilities and its potential for effort. Care for the operator’s well-being is at the heart of the company’s studies which, through collaboration with Esselunga, confirms its commitment to improving human life through the development of sustainable technologies. In addition to the physical benefits, the studies on the project estimate that they can reduce worker fatigue by up to 30% and increase productivity by up to 10%.
ALESSANDRO VIDALI
(Original article by Sarah Iori)
