Exoskeletons in the supermarket: Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use

Sandra Maria Siedl; Matthias Wolf; Martina Mara

doi:10.1145/3434074.3447200

Exoskeletons in the supermarket: Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use

Sandra Maria Siedl, Matthias Wolf, Martina Mara

Institute of Innovation and Industrial Management (3710)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper › peer-review

Abstract

Many supermarket employees, such as shelf and warehouse workers, suffer from musculoskeletal disorders. Exoskeletons, that is, physical assistance systems that are worn on the body, could help. The conditions under which workers would be willing to use this new wearable technology, however, remain largely unclear. In this exploratory field study, 58 supermarket employees tested one or more out of five passive exoskeletons during their regular work. Perceived wearing comfort, extent of strain relief, and task-technology fit (i.e., how well the exoskeleton fit their current task requirements) were found to correlate significantly with post-trial intention to use. Soft exoskeletons were rated as preferable to rigid ones. Trying one of the latter also resulted in lower intention to use, which was revealed to be fully mediated by a better task-technology fit being ascribed to soft exoskeletons. Practical relevance of the results, study limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	HRI 2021 - Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
Publisher	IEEE Computer Society
Pages	397-401
Number of pages	5
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450382908
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3434074.3447200
Publication status	Published - 8 Mar 2021
Event	2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction: HRI 2021 - Virtual, Online, United States Duration: 8 Mar 2021 → 11 Mar 2021 https://humanrobotinteraction.org/2021/

Publication series

Name	ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
ISSN (Electronic)	2167-2148

Conference

Conference	2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
Abbreviated title	HRI 2021
Country/Territory	United States
City	Virtual, Online
Period	8/03/21 → 11/03/21
Internet address	https://humanrobotinteraction.org/2021/

Keywords

Comfort
Field study
Intention to use
Passive exoskeletons
Retail industry
Strain relief
Task-technology fit
Technology acceptance
Wearables

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Artificial Intelligence
Human-Computer Interaction
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Access to Document

10.1145/3434074.3447200

Cite this

Siedl, S. M., Wolf, M., & Mara, M. (2021). Exoskeletons in the supermarket: Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use. In HRI 2021 - Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (pp. 397-401). Article 3447200 (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction). IEEE Computer Society. https://doi.org/10.1145/3434074.3447200

Exoskeletons in the supermarket: Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use. / Siedl, Sandra Maria; Wolf, Matthias; Mara, Martina.
HRI 2021 - Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE Computer Society, 2021. p. 397-401 3447200 (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper › peer-review

Siedl, SM, Wolf, M & Mara, M 2021, Exoskeletons in the supermarket: Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use. in HRI 2021 - Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction., 3447200, ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 397-401, 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Virtual, Online, United States, 8/03/21. https://doi.org/10.1145/3434074.3447200

Siedl SM, Wolf M, Mara M. Exoskeletons in the supermarket: Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use. In HRI 2021 - Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE Computer Society. 2021. p. 397-401. 3447200. (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction). doi: 10.1145/3434074.3447200

Siedl, Sandra Maria ; Wolf, Matthias ; Mara, Martina. / Exoskeletons in the supermarket : Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use. HRI 2021 - Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE Computer Society, 2021. pp. 397-401 (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction).

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abstract = "Many supermarket employees, such as shelf and warehouse workers, suffer from musculoskeletal disorders. Exoskeletons, that is, physical assistance systems that are worn on the body, could help. The conditions under which workers would be willing to use this new wearable technology, however, remain largely unclear. In this exploratory field study, 58 supermarket employees tested one or more out of five passive exoskeletons during their regular work. Perceived wearing comfort, extent of strain relief, and task-technology fit (i.e., how well the exoskeleton fit their current task requirements) were found to correlate significantly with post-trial intention to use. Soft exoskeletons were rated as preferable to rigid ones. Trying one of the latter also resulted in lower intention to use, which was revealed to be fully mediated by a better task-technology fit being ascribed to soft exoskeletons. Practical relevance of the results, study limitations and future research directions are discussed.",

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Exoskeletons in the supermarket: Influences of comfort, strain relief and task-technology fit on retail workers' post-trial intention to use

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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