Events

Webcast: Biomechanical Simulation of Passive Back-Support Exoskeletons: Effects of Actuator Strength on Musculoskeletal Load and Contact Stress

Date: November 5, 2025 at 4 PM (CET) / 9 AM (CST)

Industrial exoskeletons have been getting growing attention as an ergonomic solution to reduce musculoskeletal load associated with various tasks such as lifting and overhead work. Among various design factors, exoskeletons’ supportive torque is a vital component and therefore should be adequately determined to ensure sufficient support while minimizing potential side effects such as contract stress at the human-exoskeleton interfaces.

Exoskeleton-integrated musculoskeletal modeling offers a systematic framework for human-in-the-loop design of exoskeletons, enabling the simulation-based evaluation of various support levels to minimize the cost and time-consuming tests with human subjects. This approach also helps prevent mismatches such as over- or under-sized actuators, allowing for more effective application in real-world scenarios. In this webcast, we will briefly discuss how exoskeletons can be integrated into digital human models and review different interaction modeling approaches. Then, we will demonstrate how the AnyBody Modeling System can be used to systematically evaluate the effects of various exoskeleton support levels on biomechanical load and contact stress in an occupational task.

Presented by:

Jay Kim, PhD, Associate Professor | Texas A&M University

Environmental and Occupational Health

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Center for Worker Health

Mina Salehi, MS, PhD Candidate | Oregon State University

Environmental and Occupational Health

Visiting scholar @ Texas A&M University