Join us for an evening of networking and discussions discover how occupational exoskeletons to help workers and reduce musculoskeletal disorders at our AI Happy Hour event! This in-person event will take place on Monday 24 June at 17:30 in the FARI Test and Experience Center (Cantersteen 16, 1000 Brussels).

For this session, Shirley Elprama – imec-SMIT-VUB – will discuss the underutilization of occupational exoskeletons, highlighting existing barriers to their adoption and proposing strategies to enhance acceptance.

Description: “Exoskeletons are wearable devices that can support people in doing heavy work. Despite the potential of occupational exoskeletons to help workers and reduce musculoskeletal disorders, their usage is rather low. I will present examples of existing bottlenecks toward the adoption of occupational exoskeletons and what can be done to increase acceptance.”

Is this for you? Administrators, industry professionals and AI enthusiasts are invited to join this session.

A balanced mix of learning and relaxation – Attendees will have the opportunity to delve into exoskeletons with Shirley, followed by a casual happy hour with snacks and beverages!

This event is free to attend, but registration is compulsory.

 

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Shirley Elprama

Shirley A. Elprama is a post-doc at imec-SMIT-VUB and the FARI institute. Her research focuses on the use of technology at work in industry and in healthcare. Technologies that have been the focus of her research include (social) robots, collaborative robots, and occupational exoskeletons. She obtained her PhD on the acceptance of occupational exoskeletons in 2024 at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Before this, she worked as researcher since 2011 at imec-SMIT-VUB. She has a master in Human-Technology Interaction from Eindoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.

In her research, she likes to use a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods such as observation, interviews, focus groups, co-creation workshop, surveys, and experiments. She prefers include different stakeholders in her research and provide recommendations to designers and engineers to (co-)create technology that fits the needs of the different end users.

 

 

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About the AI Happy Hours

The AI Happy Hours are workshop sessions that will be held every last Monday of the month, starting at 17:30 pm and finishing at 19:00 pm. These sessions will provide an appetizer of what Al, data and robotics has to offer, how it can benefit citizens, administrators & companies in day-to-day life and how to safeguard sustainability, compliance and responsible use of these technologies.