National Agriculture and Food Research Organization(NARO) has developed an evaluation method for assist suits that combines assist force measurement with biomechanical models. This method can numerically demonstrate the extent to which assist suits reduce physical strain during strenuous agricultural tasks such as lifting heavy objects and maintaining a bent-over posture.

With labor shortages worsening in agriculture, assist suits are expected to be a promising means of reducing the burden on farmers. However, until now, it has been difficult to determine “which product is effective for which task, and to what extent.”

NARO has developed a method for stably measuring the torque exerted by assist suits and a biomechanical model that can mechanically analyze the load on the body during agricultural work. By combining these, they have established a system that allows for the quantitative confirmation of the degree of burden reduction.

A study evaluating commercially available lumbar support suits, simulating the lifting of harvest containers, revealed a reduction in intervertebral disc compression (strain on the lower back) of up to 48%. Furthermore, the study showed a tendency for lower back fatigue to decrease with increasing working time during repetitive lifting tasks.

The organization states that by demonstrating the strain-reducing effects along with specific use cases, users will be able to more easily select assistive suits suited to their work, and manufacturers will be able to more easily set torque targets necessary for agricultural work.

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