The truck manufacturer MAN is now using exoskeletons in its workshops. The support corsets, manufactured by the Lower Saxony prosthesis manufacturer Ottobock, are worn like a backpack and relieve the strain on employees’ muscles and joints when lifting heavy objects and working overhead.

MAN Germany boss Dennis Affeld said that physical strain would be reduced. Overload and downtime should be avoided. “The previous test phase showed that we can also increase the satisfaction and motivation of our employees with the exoskeletons.” From July, MAN will be introducing shoulder and back exoskeletons at 20 locations.

According to MAN, a pilot study at the Hildesheim, Duisburg and Leipzig sites has shown a significant reduction in strain: when lifting goods weighing ten kilograms in the warehouse, 70 kilograms less pressure was exerted on the lumbar spine. When working overhead with a five kilogram screwing tool, the shoulder joints were relieved by a good 60 percent.

Exoskeletons from various manufacturers are used in medicine, but increasingly also in the military, in competitive sports, in logistics and in industry.