At the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology - IIT), a back support exoskeleton has been developed to improve the safety of railroad workers and the conditions for heavy manual material handling during maintenance and renewal work.
The prototype, named StreamEXO, was validated in about 100 hours of operation by 15 people during a 6-month test campaign in Italy, which highlighted a 50 % reduction in ergonomic risk of physical overload and a 30 percent reduction in muscle fatigue. The exoskeleton was recently presented during a live demonstration with workers using StreamEXOs at the Port of Tarragona in Spain and is ready to start an industrialization process.
The StreamEXO exoskeleton was developed as part of the European STREAM project coordinated by Christian Di Natali, researcher at IIT - the first major strategic transnational initiative aimed at promoting research and innovation in the railroad sector to make it more competitive, efficient and sustainable.
The STREAM project has introduced a new technological solution from Industry 5.0, connecting workers' activities via the IoT with wearable technologies and enhanced occupational exoskeletons. STREAM developed the StreamEXO exoskeleton and a fully automated excavator for tasks on railroad construction sites, such as replacing ballast and sleepers.
At the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology - IIT), a back support exoskeleton has been developed to improve the safety of railroad workers and the conditions for heavy manual material handling during maintenance and renewal operations. The prototype, named STREAMEXO, was validated in about 100 hours of operation by 15 people during a 6-month test campaign in Italy, which highlighted a 50 % reduction in ergonomic risk of physical overload and a 30 % reduction in muscle fatigue. The StreamEXO exoskeleton was developed as part of the European STREAM project (streams2r.eu/), coordinated by Christian Di Natali, researcher at IIT, and funded by the European Union under Horizon 2020 and Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking. Source: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
On June 8, researchers demonstrated the exoskeleton and automated excavator on a rail construction site while simulating the project's target activities at the STREAM closing event in Tarragona, Spain. The event, held at the Port of Tarragona, was attended by the Shift2Rail project office and port authorities.
The STREAM exoskeleton (StreamEXO) generates forces that are distributed to the shoulders and legs to support the worker's back during handling activities such as lifting and carrying heavy loads. The ergonomics of the device have been designed to increase comfort and allow completely free movements to ensure a perfect fit on the worker's body when performing dynamic activities.
The system has an innovative unit solution that guarantees both robustness and performance, as well as a lightweight design (7 kg weight with a battery with 6 hours autonomy).
The device is composed of a mechanical structure, some electrical actuators and an electronic system complemented by special algorithms that assist workers in their work to reduce the risk of injury. Thanks to the control algorithms, the exoskeleton can therefore interpret a person's movements to cope with different work intensities and automatically implement assistance strategies. Workers can use StreamEXO in a variety of ways, including driving vehicles or walking on rough terrain.
The benefits of the exoskeleton were studied during a six-month trial campaign conducted by RFI and MERMEC STE s.p.a. on railroad construction sites, including a final phase near Milan. Several laboratory tests and an on-site validation with railroad workers were carried out during the campaign.
The final demonstration involved 15 workers who were used for about 100 hours in real work activities on railroad construction sites. They wore StreamEXO to carry and position concrete pipes weighing between 20 kg and 30 kg.
The results showed a 50% reduction in the ergonomic risk of physical musculoskeletal overload, particularly in the lumbar region. Fatigue was reduced by up to 30 % and muscle activity was also reduced by 25 %.
The experimental campaign was fundamental to achieve an advanced level of technological maturity for the prototype, ready for future industrialization. The StreamEXO design developed by IIT was intended to be a comfortable solution for use during work shifts for workers employed in heavy industry and construction sectors such as railroads.
The StreamEXO exoskeleton was developed as part of the European STREAM project (https://streams2r.eu/), coordinated by Christian Di Natali, researcher at IIT, and funded by the European Union under Horizon 2020 and Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking - the first major strategic transnational initiative to promote research and innovation in the railroad sector to make it more competitive, efficient and sustainable. The STREAM project has introduced a new technological solution from Industry 5.0, connecting workers' activities via the IoT with wearable technologies and enhanced occupational exoskeletons. STREAM developed the StreamEXO exoskeleton and a fully automated excavator for tasks on railroad construction sites, such as replacing ballast and sleepers.
On June 8heitthe researchers demonstrated the exoskeleton and the automated excavator on a rail construction site while simulating the project's target activities at the STREAM closing event in Tarragona, Spain. The event, held at the Port of Tarragona, was attended by the Shift2Rail project office and port authorities.
The STREAM exoskeleton (StreamEXO) generates forces that are distributed to the shoulders and legs to support the worker's back during handling activities such as lifting and carrying heavy loads. The ergonomics of the device are designed to increase comfort and allow completely free movements to ensure a perfect fit on the worker's body when performing dynamic activities. The system has an innovative unit solution that guarantees both robustness and performance, as well as a lightweight design (7 kg weight with a battery with 6 hours of autonomy).
The device is composed of a mechanical structure, some electrical actuators and an electronic system complemented by special algorithms that assist workers in their work to reduce the risk of injury. Thanks to the control algorithms, the exoskeleton can therefore interpret a person's movements to cope with different work intensities and automatically implement assistance strategies. Workers can use StreamEXO in a variety of ways, including driving vehicles or walking on rough terrain.
The benefits of the exoskeleton were studied during a six-month trial campaign conducted by RFI and MERMEC STE s.p.a. on railroad construction sites, including a final phase near Milan. Several laboratory tests and an on-site validation with railroad workers were carried out during the campaign.
The final demonstration involved 15 workers who were used for about 100 hours in real work activities on railroad construction sites. They wore StreamEXO to carry and position concrete pipes weighing between 20 kg and 30 kg.
The results showed a 50% reduction in the ergonomic risk of physical musculoskeletal overload, particularly in the lumbar region. Fatigue was reduced by up to 30 % and muscle activity was also reduced by 25 %.
The experimental campaign was fundamental to achieve an advanced level of technological maturity for the prototype, ready for future industrialization. The StreamEXO design developed by IIT was intended to be a comfortable solution for use during work shifts for workers employed in heavy industry and construction sectors such as railroads.
Note Orthexo: Orthexo.de primarily lists only commercial exoskeletons that are ready for series production and can be purchased, so we have not yet listed the StreamEXO, but would like to inform you about it nonetheless.
