Logistics workers at Ahold Delhaize in the US now wear an exoskeleton while picking heavy items. After successful pilots, the multinational has purchased 250 'robotic suits' to ease the workload for employees.
Verve Motion's exoskeleton reduces lifting loads by 30 to 40 per cent. A 10-kg item feels like a 6-kg item because of the suit. Some employees wore the robot suits over the past year and claimed to suffer less fatigue and pain after a working day. Alhold Delhaize decided to scale up the pilot and purchase 250 suits for several US distribution centres.
According to the retailer, no complex integration is required for the exoskeleton; donning a suit takes 30 seconds, and the battery life is such that the suit can be worn for an entire shift, including overtime.
