Enhancing ergonomics in E-waste disassembly: the impact of collaborative robotics on muscle activation and coordination
本研究通过表面肌电图测量22名参与者在协作机器人辅助下拆解电子废弃物时的肌肉活动，发现机器人辅助显著降低了肌肉活动（尤其是左竖脊肌减少46.4%），并增强了肌肉协调性，对改善工人健康有参考价值。
Disassembly, as a part of the electronic waste (e-waste) management process, is a labour-intensive task. The emergence of collaborative robots (cobots) provides a robotic solution to reduce the human efforts during disassembly. This study evaluated muscle activation patterns during cobot-assisted e-waste disassembly using surface electromyography (EMG). Twenty-two participants were recruited to perform disassembly tasks with and without cobot assistance. EMG signals from biceps brachii (BB), brachioradialis (BR), upper trapezius (UT), and erector spinae (ES) were collected simultaneously. Six features were then calculated to determine muscle activation patterns. Additionally, EMG-EMG coherence analysis was conducted for BR and ES muscles. Results showed a significant reduction in muscle activity with cobot assistance, particularly in the left ES muscle (46.4% decrease). Moreover, coherence between BR and ES muscles significantly increased. These findings indicate the proposed collaboration strategy not only reduces the muscle activity but also sheds light on enhancing muscle coordination during e-waste disassembly.