display

Low back pain, lumbago, herniated disc - musculoskeletal disorders are responsible for almost a quarter of all sick days in Germany and cause economic damage of more than 30 billion euros per year due to the loss of gross value added.

That is what the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has calculated.

This health risk arises because a third of all employees have to lift too heavily at work.

But this is where technology can help and relieve working people in factories and logistics centers, in the trades and in elderly care.

Exoskeletons provide support when lifting loads - either passively with mechanical aids or actively with electronics and machine learning.

Samsung and other high-profile tech investors raised capital

display

The Augsburg company German Bionic is a European leader in the field of active exoskeletons.

Samsung and other top-class tech investors have put the equivalent of 16.5 million euros into the company in an A financing round.

The start-up intends to use this to finance its expansion in Europe and to further develop its industrial IoT platform to better integrate workers with exoskeletons into the networked factory of the future.

The product has long since arrived in the German economy.

Luggage workers at Stuttgart Airport use the red high-tech rucksacks to help them lift heavy suitcases.

Warehouse workers at Ikea in Dortmund fill shelves with the help of exoskeletons.

Workshop fitters at BMW are changing car tires with reinforcement from German Bionic.

The exoskeletons can also be found on construction sites and make it easier to haul bags of cement or scaffolding parts, according to the company.

Exoskeletons to borrow from hardware stores

display

If the start-up's visions have their way, exoskeletons will find completely new markets.

"In the hardware store of the future, you will not only be able to borrow a delivery truck, but also an exoskeleton that will take the burden off the DIY enthusiast when lifting heavy goods," says Eric Eitel, spokesman for German Bionic.

As the start-up says, there is increasing demand for the technology from trade associations and chambers of crafts.

"Exoskeletons are used wherever human labor is valued," says Eitel.

This appreciation increases in times of a shortage of skilled workers.

Norma Steller is Head of IoT at German Bionic

Source: German Bionic

“Sensors on the support frame detect a lifting movement.

Motors at waist height then pull the upper body up to the shoulders, ”explains Norma Steller, the start-up's IoT boss, how her exoskeleton works.

“It relieves the lower spine and protects against herniated discs.

display

The many repetitions of a movement tire and take a toll. ”Cray X, as the device is called, actively compensates for up to 30 kilograms per lifting movement.

"It increases efficiency and protects health."

How many elephants did I lift today?

Younger users in particular, who are convinced of their own physical strength, have to overcome a mental hurdle in order to understand the technology, ”reports Steller.

“It is difficult to teach prevention to young people with hard jobs.

But after a few seconds the initial skepticism is overcome. "

To increase acceptance, the exoskeleton software also has playful elements.

At the end of a shift, a display shows the arithmetical number of elephants raised.

Relieving people of 1.5 tons per hour is feasible.

That comes together quickly: anyone who lifts 50 boxes of 30 kg each hour can do it. In the evening, four elephants are on the display.

"Human-machine collaboration" asked

The IoT expert also sees limits for robotics.

"Implicit processes that rely on intuition or fingertip sensitivity are difficult to program," says Steller.

Another borderline case is care: “When moving an old person in a nursing home, you need the emotional intelligence of a person with the power of a robot.” This is where assistance systems such as exoskeletons come into play.

In the future, they will be part of the networked and hybrid factories in which people and machines work together without barriers.

“Exoskeletons take human-machine collaboration to a new level,” says Steller.

The Cray X supports the automation of auxiliary processes.

"It shows it contextualized and in real time important data for the worker, for example a packing scheme or indoor navigation in a warehouse."

display

It uses the cloud for this.

“Because computing and storage capacities are limited on the device,” explains the IoT expert.

In the cloud, data is processed using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.

In this way, the exoskeleton learns to adapt to its person and its very individual lifting technique.

“Robotics as a Service” for 699 euros a month

Data protection plays an important role here.

“Employers only see curated, anonymized data - for example step frequencies, distances covered and loads lifted.

Bosses cannot track the performance of their employees via the exoskeleton ”.

The software does not need any personal data.

This was of great importance in software development from the start.

Cray X, the exoskeleton from German Bionic, is not a medical device.

Nevertheless, it makes a contribution to corporate health management, prevents illnesses and avoids disability.

In nursing and care for the elderly, exoskeletons can relieve overworked staff.

That has its price: German Bionic offers the exoskeleton in leasing (Robotics as a Service) from 699 euros per month.

In relation to the costs of the 21,380 new cases of disability pensions due to muscular and skeletal disorders in Germany each year, the rate is manageable.

This text comes from a cooperation with the magazine "Gründerszene".

Click on the links, leave welt.de and land in the articles at gruenderszene.de.

This is where you will find third-party content

In order to interact with or display content from third parties, we need your consent.

Activate external content

I consent to content from third parties being displayed to me.

This allows personal data to be transmitted to third party providers.

This may require the storage of cookies on your device.

More information can be found here.