Development of support system for forward tilting of the upper body

We have been developing a wearable robot that directly and physically supports human movement. A ldquomuscle suitrdquo for the arm that will provide muscular support for the paralyzed or those otherwise unable to move unaided is one example. Whereas low back pain is one of the most serious issue for the manual worker and in this paper, we focus on developing the support system for forward tilting of the upper body. In this paper, the concept and mechanical structure of the support system is shown. From the experimental result to keep forward tilting posture with load indicates our system is very effective for keeping forward tilting posture and it becomes clear that more than 60% reduction of muscular power is possible.