## 4 Discussion
### Limitations and Future Research  
While this study provides valuable insights into the short-term effectiveness of wearable robotic exoskeletons in construction settings, several limitations should be acknowledged to guide future research. First, the experiments were conducted in a controlled environment that may not fully reflect the variability and complexity of actual construction sites. Environmental factors, such as uneven terrain, variable weather conditions, and taskunpredictability, could influence exoskeleton performance in ways that were not captured in this study. Second, the study employed a single commercially available exoskeleton model (WIR-WIM-KRA), and the results may not be generalized across other exoskeleton designs. Variations in support mechanisms, joint range, and weight distribution could lead to different outcomes depending on task characteristics and user needs. Future studies comparing multiple devices will be essential to determine which design features are best suited for specific construction tasks. Third, the duration of the experiment was limited to a 2 h work session. While this timeframe allowed us to observe productivity trends and fatigue-related effects, it does not capture the long-term implications of regular exoskeleton use. Over days or weeks, workers may experience physiological adaptation (e.g., muscle compensation or deconditioning), psychological effects (such as perceived dependence or resistance), and comfort-related challenges (e.g., heat, fit, or skin irritation). These factors could influence user acceptance, safety, and sustain effectiveness over time. In addition, worker perceptions--including comfort, usability, and perceived usefulness--are likely to play a critical role in adoption of exoskeleton. Future research should incorporate user feedback and perception studies to better understand acceptance barriers and develop worker-centered design improvements. Additionally, the participant sample consisted exclusively of healthy, experienced construction workers, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. This group may not fully represent the broader construction workforce, which includes older individuals, less experienced workers, and those with pre-existing musculoskeletal conditions. These populations may respond differently to exoskeleton use in terms of usability, fatigue response, or safety. Future research should include more diverse participant profiles to better assess how different user characteristics influence the effectiveness and adoption of wearable robotic exoskeletons. Therefore, this study recommends that future research includes longitudinal studies that investigate extended usage patterns, including multi-day or multi-week observation periods. Such studies could explore how prolonged exposure to robotic assistance affects muscular activity, movement strategies, energy expenditure, and injury risks. Incorporating additional physiological metrics, such as EMG, oxygen consumption, or heart rate recovery, would also provide deeper insight into internal workload and strain. Moreover, future work should involve field-based trials in active construction environments to evaluate real-world applicability and operational feasibility. Investigating user adaptation, collaborative dynamics, and the integration of exoskeletons with other emerging technologies (e.g., digital monitoring systems or automation tools) would further enrich the understanding of practical implementation. While this study employed standard statistical analyses, including \(p\)-values and effect sizes, it did not include confidence intervals or corrections for multiple comparisons, which may affect the precision of inference. Future studies could incorporate mixed-effects models or Bayesian approaches to account for individual variability and provide more nuanced interpretations of intervention effects under complex conditions.