This study introduces a hybrid model that utilizes a model-based optimization method to generate training data and an artificial neural network (ANN)-based learning method to offer real-time exoskeleton support in lifting activities. For the model-based optimization method, the torque of the knee exoskeleton and the optimal lifting motion are predicted utilizing a two-dimensional (2D) human–exoskeleton model. The control points for exoskeleton motor current profiles and human joint angle profiles from cubic B-spline interpolation represent the design variables. Minimizing the square of the normalized human joint torque is considered as the cost function. Subsequently, the lifting optimization problem is tackled using a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm in sparse nonlinear optimizer (SNOPT). For the learning-based approach, the learning-based control model is trained using the general regression neural network (GRNN). The anthropometric parameters of the human subjects and lifting boundary postures are used as input parameters, while the control points for exoskeleton torque are treated as output parameters. Once trained, the learning-based control model can provide exoskeleton assistive torque in real time for lifting tasks. Two test subjects’ joint angles and ground reaction forces (GRFs) comparisons are presented between the experimental and simulation results. Furthermore, the utilization of exoskeletons significantly reduces activations of the four knee extensor and flexor muscles compared to lifting without the exoskeletons for both subjects. Overall, the learning-based control method can generate assistive torque profiles in real time and faster than the model-based optimal control approach.

Back pain is one of the largest drivers of workplace injury and lost productivity in industries around the world. Back injuries were one of the leading reasons in resulting in days away from work at 38.5% across all occupations, increasing for manual laborers to 43%. While the cause of the back pain can vary across occupations, for materiel movers it is often caused from repetitive poor lifting. To reduce the issues, the Aerial Porter Exoskeleton (APEx) was created. The APEx uses a hip-mounted, powered exoskeleton attached to an adjustable vest. An onboard computer calculates the configuration of the user to determine when to activate. Lift form is assisted by using a novel lumbar brace mounted on the sides of the hips. Properly worn, the APEx holds the user upright while providing additional hip torque through a lift. This was tested by having participants complete a lifting test with the exoskeleton worn in the “on” configuration compared with the exoskeleton not worn. The APEx has been shown to deliver 30 Nm of torque in lab testing. The activity recognition algorithm has also been shown to be accurate in 95% of tested conditions. When worn by subjects, testing has shown average peak reductions of 14.9% BPM, 8% in VO2 consumption, and an 8% change in perceived effort favoring the APEx.

Assistive strategies for occupational back-support exoskeletons have focused, mostly, on lifting tasks. However, in occupational scenarios, it is important to account not only for lifting but also for other activities. This can be done exploiting human activity recognition algorithms that can identify which task the user is performing and trigger the appropriate assistive strategy. We refer to this ability as exoskeleton versatility. To evaluate versatility, we propose to focus both on the ability of the device to reduce muscle activation (efficacy) and on its interaction with the user (dynamic fit). To this end, we performed an experimental study involving $ 10 $ healthy subjects replicating the working activities of a manufacturing plant. To compare versatile and non-versatile exoskeletons, our device, XoTrunk, was controlled with two different strategies. Correspondingly, we collected muscle activity, kinematic variables and users’ subjective feedbacks. Also, we evaluated the task recognition performance of the device. The results show that XoTrunk is capable of reducing muscle activation by up to $ 40\% $ in lifting and $ 30\% $ in carrying. However, the non-versatile control strategy hindered the users’ natural gait (e.g., $ -24\% $ reduction of hip flexion), which could potentially lower the exoskeleton acceptance. Detecting carrying activities and adapting the control strategy, resulted in a more natural gait (e.g., $ +9\% $ increase of hip flexion). The classifier analyzed in this work, showed promising performance (online accuracy > 91%). Finally, we conducted 9 hours of field testing, involving four users. Initial subjective feedbacks on the exoskeleton versatility, are presented at the end of this work.

Occupational exoskeletons and exosuits have been shown to reduce muscle demands and fatigue for physical tasks relevant to a variety of industries (e.g., logistics, construction, manufacturing, military, healthcare). However, adoption of these devices into the workforce has been slowed by practical factors related to comfort, form-factor, weight, and not interfering with movement or posture. We previously introduced a low-profile, dual-mode exosuit comprised of textile and elastic materials to address these adoption barriers. Here we build upon this prior work by introducing an extension mechanism that increases the moment arm of the exosuit while in engaged mode, then collapses in disengaged mode to retain key benefits related to being lightweight, low-profile, and unobstructive. Here we demonstrate both analytically and empirically how this extensible exosuit concept can (a) reduce device-to-body forces (which can improve comfort for some users and situations), or (b) increase the magnitude of torque assistance about the low back (which may be valuable for heavy-lifting jobs) without increasing shoulder or leg forces relative to the prior form-fitting exosuit. We also introduce a novel mode-switching mechanism, as well as a human-exosuit biomechanical model to elucidate how individual design parameters affect exosuit assistance torque and device-to-body forces. The proof-of-concept prototype, case study, and modeling work provide a foundation for understanding and implementing extensible exosuits for a broad range of applications. We envision promising opportunities to apply this new dual-mode extensible exosuit concept to assist heavy-lifting, to further enhance user comfort, and to address the unique needs of last-mile and other delivery workers.

To reduce the incidence of occupational musculoskeletal disorders, back-support exoskeletons are being introduced to assist manual material handling activities. Using a device of this type, this study investigates the effects of a new control strategy that uses the angular acceleration of the user’s trunk to assist during lifting tasks. To validate this new strategy, its effectiveness was experimentally evaluated relative to the condition without the exoskeleton as well as against existing strategies for comparison. Using the exoskeleton during lifting tasks reduced the peak compression force on the L5S1 disc by up to 16%, with all the control strategies. Substantial differences between the control strategies in the reductions of compression force, lumbar moment and back muscle activation were not observed. However, the new control strategy reduced the movement speed less with respect to the existing strategies. Thanks to improved timing in the assistance in relation to the typical dynamics of the target task, the hindrance to typical movements appeared reduced, thereby promoting intuitiveness and comfort.

The information potential of human skeletal remains—as for any excavated material—is impacted by the conditions of archaeological burial, and the environments and actions experienced during subsequent excavation, laboratory processing, study, and storage. A conservation approach emphasizes the mitigation of threats to material stability and integrity, which for excavated collections are often most critical at the point of archaeological exposure and recovery. Conservation techniques involving application of modern synthetic materials for stabilizing skeletal remains in the field are discussed, using case examples primarily from terrestrial archaeological projects in Mesoamerica. The potential effects of the use of various conservation materials on results of biomolecular instrumental analysis are included.

We apply the lifting theorem of Searle and the second author to put metrics of almost nonnegative curvature on the fake $\mathbb{R}P^{6}$s of Hirsch and Milnor and on the analogous fake $\mathbb{R}P^{14}$s.

This paper contributes to the regular covers of a complete bipartite graph minus a matching, denoted $K_{n,n}-nK_{2}$, whose fiber-preserving automorphism group acts 2-arc-transitively. All such covers, when the covering transformation group $K$ is either cyclic or $\mathbb{Z}_{p}^{2}$ with $p$ a prime, have been determined in Xu and Du [‘2-arc-transitive cyclic covers of $K_{n,n}-nK_{2}$’, J. Algebraic Combin.39 (2014), 883–902] and Xu et al. [‘2-arc-transitive regular covers of $K_{n,n}-nK_{2}$ with the covering transformation group $\mathbb{Z}_{p}^{2}$’, Ars. Math. Contemp.10 (2016), 269–280]. Finally, this paper gives a classification of all such covers for $K\cong \mathbb{Z}_{p}^{3}$ with $p$ a prime.

Suppose that $\widetilde{G}$ is a connected reductive group defined over a field $k$, and $\Gamma$ is a finite group acting via $k$-automorphisms of $\widetilde{G}$ satisfying a certain quasi-semisimplicity condition. Then the identity component of the group of $\Gamma$-fixed points in $\widetilde{G}$ is reductive. We axiomatize the main features of the relationship between this fixed-point group and the pair $\left( \tilde{G},\Gamma \right)$, and consider any group $G$ satisfying the axioms. If both $\widetilde{G}$ and $G$ are $k$-quasisplit, then we can consider their duals $\widetilde{{{G}^{*}}}$ and ${{G}^{*}}$. We show the existence of and give an explicit formula for a natural map from the set of semisimple stable conjugacy classes in ${{G}^{*}}\,(k)$ to the analogous set for $\widetilde{{{G}^{*}}}\,(k)$. If $k$ is finite, then our groups are automatically quasisplit, and our result specializes to give a map of semisimple conjugacy classes. Since such classes parametrize packets of irreducible representations of $G(k)$ and $\widetilde{G}\,(k)$, one obtains a mapping of such packets.

The paper addresses the following problem: for a three-bar lifting linkage, find the locations of the two ends of the actuated link so as to minimize the maximum value of the force seen by the actuator over a specified range of arm angular positions. A simple analytical solution to this min-max problem is given, showing that the optimal locations are with the actuated link perpendicular either to the fixed link or to the lifting arm, when the arm is in a horizontal position. The method can be used to optimize the actuation of robots, doors, platforms, landing gears, etc., and allows to account for actuator length constraints. It can be extended also to Stewart's platform-type spatial manipulators.

Let k be an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic p. We consider which finite groups G have the property that every faithful action of G on a connected smooth projective curve over k lifts to characteristic zero. Oort conjectured that cyclic groups have this property. We show that if a cyclic-by-p group G has this property, then G must be either cyclic or dihedral, with the exception of A4 in characteristic two. This proves one direction of a strong form of the Oort conjecture.

We study characters of an $n$-fold cover $\widetilde{SL} (n,\mathbb{F})$ of $SL(n,\mathbb{F})$ over a non-Archimedean local field. We compute the character of an irreducible representation of $\widetilde{SL}(n,\mathbb{F})$ in terms of the character of an irreducible representation of a cover $\widetilde{GL}(n,\mathbb{F})$ of $GL(n,\mathbb{F})$. We define an analogue of L-packets for $\widetilde{SL}(n,\mathbb{F})$, such that the character of a linear combination of the representations in such a packet is computed in terms of the character of an irreducible representation of $PGL(n,\mathbb{F})$. This is analogous to stable endoscopic lifting for linear groups. We also prove an ‘inversion’ formula expressing the character of a genuine irreducible representation of $\widetilde{SL}(n,\mathbb{F})$ as a linear combination of virtual characters, each of which is obtained from $PGL(n,\mathbb{F})$.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 22E50. Secondary 11F70

In an earlier work, the authors described a mechanism for lifting monomial ideals to reduced unions of linear varieties. When the monomial ideal is Cohen–Macaulay (including Artinian), the corresponding union of linear varieties is arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay. The first main result of this paper is that if the monomial ideal is Artinian then the corresponding union is in the Gorenstein linkage class of a complete intersection (glicci). This technique has some interesting consequences. For instance, given any (d + 1)-times differentiable O-sequence H, there is a nondegenerate arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay reduced union of linear varieties with Hilbert function H which is glicci. In other words, any Hilbert function that occurs for arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay schemes in fact occurs among the glicci schemes. This is not true for licci schemes. Modifying our technique, the second main result is that any Cohen–Macaulay Borel-fixed monomial ideal is glicci. As a consequence, all arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay subschemes of projective space are glicci up to flat deformation.