Physical Fatigue and Performance Patterns between Men and Women Workers during Teleoperation Tasks

Teleoperation technology improves safety and efficiency in hazardous construction tasks by enabling remote operation of machinery. However, different operators may exhibit various physical responses and operation styles, resulting in different performance in teleoperation tasks. This study explores gender-specific fatigue patterns and task performance during teleoperation to inform ergonomic designs that accommodate diverse operators. Two teleoperation tasks, i.e., driving and arm manipulation, were designed and conducted with 20 participants. Fatigue in different body parts was monitored using EMG sensors, and task performance was evaluated based on task completion time and number of interruptions. It was found that men demonstrated higher task performance but experienced greater sustained fatigue, reflecting prolonged strain. Women showed lower performance with consistent fatigue patterns, prioritizing precision over speed. This highlights the need for gender-specific ergonomic strategies to enhance comfort, reduce fatigue, and improve adaptability and efficiency in teleoperation systems for construction tasks.