Gizmos & Gadgets: Exoskeletons Coming to an Assembly Line Near You

August 9, 2018 – A technological innovation arising out of U.S. defense research aimed at enhancing soldiers strength in the field is now being used by Ford Motor Company workers at 15 of its factories around the world. Called EksoVests, and produced by Ekso Bionics, a Northern California-based company, it is an upper-body exoskeleton designed for workers doing overhead assembly tasks. A light-weight vest, EksoVest reduces stress on the wearer’s arms dramatically.

Exoskeleton technology is a burgeoning field these days. In a recent Washington Post feature article called “The Rise of the Superhuman,” it describes the promise of this technology, “freeing us from the drudgery of physical work,” improving endurance, heavy lift capability, and productivity while reducing fatigue and injury.

In the case of EksoVest, it is designed to enhance upper body-related activities. But there are many other exoskeletons on the market now that don’t just improve endurance but also are giving paraplegic and quadriplegics, and those confined to wheelchairs the ability to stand up and walk. Physiotherapists are employing exoskeletons to help their patients to relearn to walk, and one can imagine upper-body exoskeletons helping to restore arm range of motion and strength.

When we think of human-machine integration we often envision our human brains being linked to computers by some kind of interface. But the true human-machine integration we are seeing today is in exoskeletons.

Ford’s adoption of the technology began in 2017 with the deployment of EksoVests in two of its Michigan-based factories. Based on the initial success the company is testing 75 of these exoskeletons at 15 plants around the world. It is still a pilot project so for the moment only one or two workers on an assembly line will be outfitted with an EksoVest. Ford sees this as an experiment. In choosing the EksoVest, Marty Smets, Ford’s technical expert on human systems and virtual manufacturing, states “we wanted to focus on one exoskeleton initially, then expand from there as the space grows.” The proof in the pudding will be a reduction in workplace injuries and increased productivity.

If successful the company has more than 200,000 employees working for it. Not all are on assembly lines, but one could see thousands of EksoVests being deployed within the next few years at Ford.