jakobsen-relax-warehouse-exo Coming soon Field Exo evaluation

RELAX: 18-Month In-Field Back-Exoskeleton Intervention in Warehouse Order Picking

Jakobsen L.S., Skals S., Christiansen D.H., Sørensen J., Pontonnier C., Madeleine P.

Aalborg University / NFA / Univ Rennes · 2026 · Denmark

Protocol of the RELAX project: an 18-month controlled (non-randomized) in-field intervention at a Danish warehouse, comparing a department of ~45 order pickers using the SUITX IX Back Air passive back exoskeleton against a usual-work control department. Outcomes cover perceived work intensity, musculoskeletal discomfort, absence, turnover, productivity and cost-effectiveness. Results pending (trial runs through 2029); data will be available from the authors on reasonable request.

SurveyMMHLifting

Release pending

Details

Subjects: n = 90
Setting: Field — real workplace
Protocol / load: Manual order picking at a Dagrofa Logistik warehouse (Vejle, Denmark): heavy lifting, awkward postures, repetitive movements at production pace
Equipment: Questionnaires (perceived work intensity, Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort), company registers (sickness absence, turnover, productivity), exoskeleton usage logs, focus-group interviews, cost-effectiveness analysis
License: TBD
Keywords: exoskeleton, back, field-study, warehouse, intervention, protocol
Added to catalog: 2026-09-01

Publications

Jakobsen L.S., Skals S., Christiansen D.H., Sørensen J., Pontonnier C., Madeleine P. (2026). Protocol of the RELAX project, an 18-month in-field controlled intervention study. medRxivProtocol only; trial registered as NCT07561112, running through 2029. Results pending.

Exoskeleton

Record type: Device evaluation
Device(s): IX Back Air (SUITX by Ottobock)
Body region: Back
Actuation: Passive
Study design: Controlled non-randomized in-field intervention: exoskeleton department vs. usual-work control department, ~45 workers each, 18 months
Outcomes: Subjective ratings, Discomfort / usability, Task performance

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{jakobsen-relax-warehouse-exo,
  author = {Jakobsen, L.S. and Skals, S. and Christiansen, D.H. and Sørensen, J. and Pontonnier, C. and Madeleine, P.},
  title  = {{RELAX: 18-Month In-Field Back-Exoskeleton Intervention in Warehouse Order Picking}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.21.26353770v1},
}