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The exoskeleton presents the picture of a futuristic workplace where wearable devices are helping workers carry out certain tasks more safely. But does this tell the whole story on worker wellbeing? IOSH Research Programme Lead Dr Laura Bradshaw takes a closer look.

In this transformational era, where emerging technologies are seemingly taking over the workplace, the concept of the exoskeleton feels futuristic.

Yet, exoskeletons are not new. Their concept was first introduced back in 1966 (Dahmen et al., 2018). Exoskeletons are wearable devices that enhance or support the strength of the user (EU-OSHA, 2019). Research defines exoskeletons and exoskeletal robots as “wearable devices based on a mechanical structure that conceptually mirrors the skeletal structure of a limb or the involved body part” (Tiboni et al., 2022).

Read the full blog here Everyone’s talking about exoskeletons – but do they live up to their hype? | IOSH