Sejong City successfully proves the effectiveness of "wearable robots" in reducing musculoskeletal burden for farmers.

Advanced wearable robots to reduce musculoskeletal burden for farmers have been deployed in orchards in Sejong City. The Sejong Special Self-Governing City Agricultural Technology Center (Director Pi Ok-ja) announced on the 1st that it has successfully carried out a wearable robot demonstration project in collaboration with the Rural Development Administration and the National Institute of Agricultural Science. This project was launched to reduce musculoskeletal diseases, which account for 96.5% of occupational diseases among farmers, and to create a safe farming environment in response to the aging of the rural population. The "X-ble Shoulder," a shoulder strength assistance wearable robot developed by Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Robotics Lab, was utilized in the field demonstration. Designed with a vest structure, this equipment assists shoulder strength during fruit tree pruning and harvesting, which involve many repetitive overhead movements, significantly reducing ...