Global Big Data Conference

Researchers at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) and INAIL (Italian Worker's Compensation Authority) have designed and created innovative prototypes of wearable robotic exoskeletons for industrial use to make work in the industrial and manufacturing sectors safer. Via electric motors and artificial intelligence algorithms, these wearable robotic devices will assist workers engaged in the most physically demanding tasks, significantly reducing the effort required by up to 40% and lowering the percentage of accidents at work and chronic occupational disorders. Researchers are starting to test the prototypes in real scenarios and are planning further development in order to reach the technological level required to bring them to the market in few years. In Italy, occupational injuries affecting the musculoskeletal system are the most frequent complaints in the workplace: 68% of the occupational injuries reported to INAIL are related to the musculoskeletal system. Of this percentage, the largest share (about 41%) concerns the spinal column.