Thermophysiological and Subjective Thermal Responses to Soft and Rigid Spinal Exoskeletons in Young Male Workers: An Experimental Study

Liu, Yang; Zhang, Zhuoya; Xue, Yanmin; Wang, Mengcheng; Fan, Hao; Li, Rui; Qiao, Zhi; Yao, Xingbo

doi:10.3390/app16020820

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Thermophysiological and Subjective Thermal Responses to Soft and Rigid Spinal Exoskeletons in Young Male Workers: An Experimental Study

by

Yang Liu

¹,

Zhuoya Zhang

¹,

Yanmin Xue

^1,*

,

Mengcheng Wang

¹,

Hao Fan

²

,

Rui Li

¹

,

Zhi Qiao

¹ and

Xingbo Yao

¹

School of of Art and Design, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710054, China

²

Key Laboratory of Industrial Design and Ergonomics, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xi’an 710072, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(2), 820; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16020820

Submission received: 1 November 2025 / Revised: 31 December 2025 / Accepted: 9 January 2026 / Published: 13 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human-Centered Design in Wearable Technology)

Download Versions Notes

Abstract

In industrial and logistics settings, the use of soft and rigid spinal exoskeletons has been increasing. However, under a unified assistance level and comparable work scenarios, systematic comparisons of their effects on users’ thermophysiological responses and subjective thermal perceptions remain limited. Twenty male participants performed manual handling tasks under three load conditions (5, 10, and 15 kg) in three experimental conditions: without the exoskeleton (WEXO), a rigid exoskeleton (REXO), and a soft exoskeleton (SEXO). Metabolic rate, mean skin temperature (MST), thermal comfort vote (TCV), and thermal sensation vote (TSV) were measured. The key findings are as follows: Compared with WEXO, both exoskeletons significantly reduced metabolic rate. Across all loads, SEXO yielded a lower metabolic rate than REXO and showed a more gradual linear increase as the load increased, whereas REXO exhibited a larger rise at 15 kg. Overall, MST was higher in REXO than in SEXO. Wearing an exoskeleton was often associated with increased skin temperature at 5–10 kg, yet MST decreased for both exoskeletons at 15 kg. Subjective ratings further indicated better TCV and TSV with SEXO than with REXO, with the difference more pronounced under higher loads. Taken together, under the conditions of this study, the soft exoskeleton appears to better balance assistive benefits and thermal comfort. Nevertheless, its heat transfer and heat dissipation performance should be further optimized in future designs.

Keywords: soft spinal exoskeleton; rigid spinal exoskeleton; thermophysiological response; skin temperature; subjective thermal response; occupational ergonomics

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Xue, Y.; Wang, M.; Fan, H.; Li, R.; Qiao, Z.; Yao, X. Thermophysiological and Subjective Thermal Responses to Soft and Rigid Spinal Exoskeletons in Young Male Workers: An Experimental Study. Appl. Sci. 2026, 16, 820. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16020820

AMA Style

Liu Y, Zhang Z, Xue Y, Wang M, Fan H, Li R, Qiao Z, Yao X. Thermophysiological and Subjective Thermal Responses to Soft and Rigid Spinal Exoskeletons in Young Male Workers: An Experimental Study. Applied Sciences. 2026; 16(2):820. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16020820

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Yang, Zhuoya Zhang, Yanmin Xue, Mengcheng Wang, Hao Fan, Rui Li, Zhi Qiao, and Xingbo Yao. 2026. "Thermophysiological and Subjective Thermal Responses to Soft and Rigid Spinal Exoskeletons in Young Male Workers: An Experimental Study" Applied Sciences 16, no. 2: 820. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16020820

APA Style

Liu, Y., Zhang, Z., Xue, Y., Wang, M., Fan, H., Li, R., Qiao, Z., & Yao, X. (2026). Thermophysiological and Subjective Thermal Responses to Soft and Rigid Spinal Exoskeletons in Young Male Workers: An Experimental Study. Applied Sciences, 16(2), 820. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16020820

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Thermophysiological and Subjective Thermal Responses to Soft and Rigid Spinal Exoskeletons in Young Male Workers: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI