Cargando…

Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review

Wearable devices are pervasive solutions for increasing work efficiency, improving workers’ well-being, and creating interactions between users and the environment anytime and anywhere. Although several studies on their use in various fields have been performed, there are no systematic reviews on th...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Stefana, Elena, Marciano, Filippo, Rossi, Diana, Cocca, Paola, Tomasoni, Giuseppe
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7865302/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33498904
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s21030777
_version_ 1783647814359711744
author Stefana, Elena
Marciano, Filippo
Rossi, Diana
Cocca, Paola
Tomasoni, Giuseppe
author_facet Stefana, Elena
Marciano, Filippo
Rossi, Diana
Cocca, Paola
Tomasoni, Giuseppe
author_sort Stefana, Elena
collection PubMed
description Wearable devices are pervasive solutions for increasing work efficiency, improving workers’ well-being, and creating interactions between users and the environment anytime and anywhere. Although several studies on their use in various fields have been performed, there are no systematic reviews on their utilisation in ergonomics. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to identify wearable devices proposed in the scientific literature for ergonomic purposes and analyse how they can support the improvement of ergonomic conditions. Twenty-eight papers were retrieved and analysed thanks to eleven comparison dimensions related to ergonomic factors, purposes, and criteria, populations, application and validation. The majority of the available devices are sensor systems composed of different types and numbers of sensors located in diverse body parts. These solutions also represent the technology most frequently employed for monitoring and reducing the risk of awkward postures. In addition, smartwatches, body-mounted smartphones, insole pressure systems, and vibrotactile feedback interfaces have been developed for evaluating and/or controlling physical loads or postures. The main results and the defined framework of analysis provide an overview of the state of the art of smart wearables in ergonomics, support the selection of the most suitable ones in industrial and non-industrial settings, and suggest future research directions.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7865302
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-78653022021-02-07 Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review Stefana, Elena Marciano, Filippo Rossi, Diana Cocca, Paola Tomasoni, Giuseppe Sensors (Basel) Review Wearable devices are pervasive solutions for increasing work efficiency, improving workers’ well-being, and creating interactions between users and the environment anytime and anywhere. Although several studies on their use in various fields have been performed, there are no systematic reviews on their utilisation in ergonomics. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to identify wearable devices proposed in the scientific literature for ergonomic purposes and analyse how they can support the improvement of ergonomic conditions. Twenty-eight papers were retrieved and analysed thanks to eleven comparison dimensions related to ergonomic factors, purposes, and criteria, populations, application and validation. The majority of the available devices are sensor systems composed of different types and numbers of sensors located in diverse body parts. These solutions also represent the technology most frequently employed for monitoring and reducing the risk of awkward postures. In addition, smartwatches, body-mounted smartphones, insole pressure systems, and vibrotactile feedback interfaces have been developed for evaluating and/or controlling physical loads or postures. The main results and the defined framework of analysis provide an overview of the state of the art of smart wearables in ergonomics, support the selection of the most suitable ones in industrial and non-industrial settings, and suggest future research directions. MDPI 2021-01-24 /pmc/articles/PMC7865302/ /pubmed/33498904 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s21030777 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Stefana, Elena
Marciano, Filippo
Rossi, Diana
Cocca, Paola
Tomasoni, Giuseppe
Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review
title Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review
title_full Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review
title_fullStr Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review
title_full_unstemmed Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review
title_short Wearable Devices for Ergonomics: A Systematic Literature Review
title_sort wearable devices for ergonomics: a systematic literature review
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7865302/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33498904
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s21030777
work_keys_str_mv AT stefanaelena wearabledevicesforergonomicsasystematicliteraturereview
AT marcianofilippo wearabledevicesforergonomicsasystematicliteraturereview
AT rossidiana wearabledevicesforergonomicsasystematicliteraturereview
AT coccapaola wearabledevicesforergonomicsasystematicliteraturereview
AT tomasonigiuseppe wearabledevicesforergonomicsasystematicliteraturereview