Exoskeleton Performance Data

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, Intelligent Systems Division has collected data measuring human subjects, while performing common, simulated industrial manufacturing tasks with and without wearing an exoskeleton. Five tests were completed as part of a research study to develop measurement science towards standard test methods. For simulated industrial manufacturing tasks were performed using a novel, now standardized apparatus, called the Position and Load Test Apparatus for Exoskeletons (PoLoTAE). In addition, a set of novel optical tracking marker artifacts were worn by the subject for synchronous tracking of exoskeleton and human leg position and orientation. The standard test artifacts were intended to address the challenges of measurement uncertainty variation between different marker clusters and marker movement on soft tissue and marker occlusion when using traditional bio-mechanical marker models while wearing an exoskeleton. The PoLoTAE tests simulated generic industrial tasks (load positioning, load alignment, peg-in-hole, applied force). The knee bend tests were performed to synchronously track the exoskeleton and human lower limb position and orientation for analysis such as comparing the exoskeleton fit to the subject’s leg.Overall, the tests included 116 subjects of which 68 subjects (59% of total subjects) consented to publication of their raw test data described in this paper. While some subjects performed more than one test, at least 30 subjects performed each of the five tests totaling 158 tests performed. To date, aggregate data for the load positioning and knee bend tests have been analyzed and are referenced in this paper. Sensor data was collected from each subject, which included: repetition number, heart rate, videos, skeletal joint pose estimation, and survey data.