Lack of standards hampers development of exoskeleton industry

The exoskeleton industry is being held back by a lack of standards, according to Forbes contributor Borislav Marinov.

A lack of guidelines, common terminology, and testing methodology leave it to users to develop their own best practices and evaluation procedures. Exoskeleton technology can augment construction workers physical ability and potentially reduce injuries.

The dearth of standards prevents the gathering of test results, which, in turn, has hindered the development of industrial exoskeleton applications, Marinov wrote. Although organizations such as ASTM International and the International Organization for Standards have released some standards, they fall short of the comprehensive rules that are needed to give users a deep understanding of exoskeleton use.

Even so, Marinov points out that the market for exoskeletons for industrial use has gone from next to nothing to nearly 10,000 commercially purchased units over the past 10 years.

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