Exoskeletons - Human-Centred Solutions to Support Care Workers?

Abstract

Care work involves various physically strenuous stages. Tools of different kinds, such as cranes, can be used to facilitate the work, but if no suitable tool exists, the care worker’s physical strength is used as an aid. This can easily lead to injuries, sick leaves and early exits from work life. Exoskeletons, a form of wearable robotics, can support care workers by reducing physical exertion and supporting posture and motion. They are being used in other fields, such as industry, with good results, but little is currently known about the use of exoskeletons to support care work. Integrating technology into care work is a question of mutual adjustments between technologies and various work practices. In this chapter, we examine—from the point of view of technology domestication—the implementation and use of exoskeletons in care services. We make use of a field study of user experiences with the Auxivo LiftSuit exoskeleton in elderly care that was conducted in two care homes in Finland. Both factors that support domestication and those that delay it are presented, resulting in new knowledge concerning the exoskeleton in question and the more general prerequisites for domestication of exoskeletons in care work. These findings may be utilised to develop future domestication processes, thus advancing human-centred service design in care services.