Exo4Work Shoulder Exoskeleton: Overhead Precision Drilling in Women
Gräf J.K., Wollesen B., Díaz M.A., De Bock S., Hansen L., Ducastel V., Preckher A., Roelands B., De Pauw K.
Vrije Universiteit Brussel / University of Hamburg / German Sport University Cologne · 2026 · Belgium
One of the few occupational-exoskeleton evaluations with a women-only cohort: 14 women performed overhead precision bolt-tightening with and without the Exo4Work passive shoulder exoskeleton in a randomized crossover (Scientific Reports, 2026). Trapezius activity and subjective shoulder strain decreased but accuracy and usability suffered, documenting fit and complexity issues for female users. Data from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Details
- Subjects
- n = 14 · 14F · 27 ± 10
- Setting
- Laboratory (controlled or simulated)
- Protocol / load
- Overhead precision bolt-tightening: 20 bolts into a sensor-instrumented workstation with a 1.14 kg electric screwdriver
- Equipment
- sEMG on 7 shoulder/arm muscles; workstation force sensors and accelerometers; Borg RPE, Body Part Discomfort Scale, System Usability Scale
- License
- Data from corresponding author on reasonable request
- Keywords
- exoskeleton, shoulder, overhead-work, women, usability, drilling
- Added to catalog
- 2026-09-01
Publications
- Gräf J.K. et al. (2026). Influence of a passive shoulder exoskeleton on drilling performance in women - a cross-sectional study. Sci. Rep. 16:17853Trapezius activation and shoulder strain decreased, but accuracy dropped and usability was rated unacceptable - fit issues for female users.
Exoskeleton
- Record type
- Device evaluation
- Device(s)
- Exo4Work (VUB/BruBotics)
- Body region
- Shoulder
- Actuation
- Passive
- Study design
- Randomized 2x2 crossover, with vs. without the exoskeleton, women-only cohort
- Outcomes
- Muscle activity (EMG), Task performance, Subjective ratings, Discomfort / usability
This record is part of the exoskeleton collection.
Cite
Cite the dataset as its authors request (check the source page for an official citation); this BibTeX is a convenience starting point.
@misc{graef-exo4work-women-drilling,
author = {Gräf, J.K. and Wollesen, B. and Díaz, M.A. and De Bock, S. and Hansen, L. and Ducastel, V. and Preckher, A. and Roelands, B. and De Pauw, K.},
title = {{Exo4Work Shoulder Exoskeleton: Overhead Precision Drilling in Women}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-53198-9},
}