WearRAcon Europe 2023

WearRAcon Europe is the European edition of the WearRAcon Conference, organized bi-annually by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) and the University of Stuttgart’s Institute of Industrial Manufacturing and Management (IFF), in close collaboration with the global exoskeleton interest group, the Wearable Robotics Association (WearRA) in Phoenix, Arizona (USA).

It aims to present European aspects of the latest innovations in wearable robotics, with a particular focus on occupational exoskeletons, and foster interactions between wearable robotics professionals, end-users from the industry, experts from the academia, and representatives from governmental agencies.

The WearRAcon Europe Conference 2023 will provide new insights into the promising world of exoskeleton systems from different perspectives and, in conjunction with the A+A Congress, set future-oriented impulses. It thus offers the ideal framework for scientific and industry-focused discourse.

The wide range of wearable robitics at A+A is complemented by the Exo Park in Hall 5 Stand A30. Here, renowned exhibitors will present their exoskeletons. You can find out more about the products and the technology behind them from the experts on site.

The conference will be supplemented by a wide variety of products and solutions on display at the trade fair and two further exciting areas in the Exo Park: like at the previous A+A, a Self-Experience Space will again be set up so that the exoskeleton systems of various manufacturers can be tested in realistic work scenarios. This Space already met with avid interest among visitors and exoskeleton manufacturers in 2021.

In parallel with the Self-Experience Space, the large live study EXOWORKATHLON will also take place again. Trainees from various mechatronic training courses have to complete a concourse and perform holding, lifting and assembling tasks, which have been specially developed with the industry. Data is prospectively collected with different measuring sensors to measure the effects of exoskeletons.

In the EXOWORKATHLON, the IPA focuses especially on prevention for young employees in order to raise awareness of the issue and counteract ailments at an early stage.

Sponsor: Cambridge University Press

Results:
Winner: Veronika Hofmann, Fraunhofer IPA, “Development and Evaluation of a passive lower body exoskeleton for agriculture”

Runner-up: Catherine Michaud, CRAMIF, “Integration of Exoskeletons among handling operators in baggage galleries at Paris CDG Airport”

Jury:

• Marisol Barrero, WearRA Director of Workplace Safety Applications
• Prof. Thomas Sugar, Arizona State University & WearRA Executive Director
• Prof. Nicola Vitiello, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna