Publication
Title
Improving Postural Ergonomics during Human-Robot Collaboration Using Particle Swarm Optimization: A Study in Virtual Environment
Author
Abstract
Musculoskeletal disorders caused by poor work posture are a serious concern in the industry since they lead to absenteeism and medical leave from work. In the context of human-robot collaboration, this issue can be mitigated if collaborative robots support human workers to perform their tasks more ergonomically. In this work, we propose a method to optimize human posture during human-robot collaboration using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. Our approach involves assigning an appropriate location to the robot's end-effector to minimize the distance between the optimized posture of the human and their current posture in the working space. To measure human posture, we use the Rapid Entire Body Assessment score (REBA) calculated from body joint angles captured by a Kinect camera. To validate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we conducted a user study with 20 participants in a virtual reality environment. The PSO algorithm could position the robot end-effector to the optimal position close to real time. Our results showed that our method could improve ergonomics by 66%, indicating its potential for use in human-robot collaborative applications.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Applied Sciences. - -
Publication
2023
ISSN
2076-3417
DOI
10.3390/APP13095385
Volume/pages
13 :9 (2023) , 12 p.
Article Reference
5385
ISI
000986983800001
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Research group
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 13.11.2023
Last edited 25.04.2024
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