The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society features research into such things as how humans focus on displays and controls, how humans work to lift, reach, and twist in various occupations. The Society has been mostly academic, but Susan Kotowski, outgoing President, has led an initiative to reach out to practitioners fostering joint collaboration into research.
The sessions I attended explained research using video-based experiments evaluating tools such as exoskeletons that might alleviate any of a variety of work-related injuries.
I thought maybe I would meet engineering grad students, but Kotowski told me members of the Society hold a variety of titles and jobs, usability, goal, jobs, tasks, processes, fit to person using them, designing to people, span every industry, cognitive and physical.
The conference was dubbed ASPIRE, which is both an appropriate word and a letterism standing for Advancing Systems and Practices through Innovation, Research, Education.
I mostly attended sessions in the Occupational Ergonomics track. Some of the research focused on hands—the best way to grip, move, assemble tools and parts. Other research focused on exoskeletons. The goal is to reduce muscular/skeleton injuries and repetitive lifting injuries.
Much of the research turns out to not be practical. Seeking more collaboration with industry will help focus research into more useful channels.
Talking with researchers in the hall, I was told that exoskeletons have so far been oversold. They are OK for straight lifting, but if the subject is also given a cognitive task problems ensue. Further, any movements other than straight, say requiring twisting or turning, are not viable.
