Design and model-based evaluation of a novel assistive neck exoskeleton system for aircrews safety

Pilots need to maintain their situational awareness by performing head checks. Head checks in the presence of higher acceleration can result in high rates of neck pain and injury. Assistive exoskeletons are seen to augment the abilities of the human body. These systems have received less attention for pilots and aircrews in the reported studies. This work proposes a novel multi-link neck exoskeleton for aircrews. Parameter analysis and optimisation of the system are conducted for two common aircrew head postures in different acceleration levels. High-g centrifuge experimental data provides acceleration data in three axis’ for the scenarios. The simulation is done in musculoskeletal simulation software. The results show that, for both postures, the human model records lower muscle activity measures than baseline when equipped with the optimised exoskeleton. At 9g, for the check-6 posture, a reduction of 16.11% is recorded while for extension posture, the reduction is 39.12%. The efficacy of the design proves the significant benefit of the system in enhancing aircrews’ safety and situational awareness.