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Climbing A-frame ladders places high physical demand on the legs. We measured how lower-limb muscles work through each phase of climbing to identify when and where effort is greatest. Using surface electromyography, we found that the quadriceps are most active while supporting the body, the calf muscles assist during push-off, and the tibialis anterior engages mainly for foot clearance. During descent, the quadriceps appeared to playa substantialrole in controlling lowering through eccentric action. These findings provide insight into when leg support may be most needed and suggest potential timing windows for future exoskeleton assistance during ladder climbing. 

Exoskeletons are increasingly used in industrial settings, yet most are designed for structured, repetitive tasks, limiting adaptability to dynamic movements. In construction, frequent locomotion tasks demand continuous lower-limb engagement, and ladder climbing places substantial loads on coordination and flexibility. This study aimed to identify key muscles involved in climbing to support the development of adaptive exoskeletons. Ten healthy male participants (33.8 ± 3.4 years; 178.7 ± 5.0 cm; 87.4 ± 16.1 kg) performed vertical and A-frame ladder ascents in a controlled laboratory setting. Surface electromyography was recorded from eight right-leg muscles and processed using band-pass filtering, rectification, and root mean square smoothing. Two normalization strategies were applied: walking normalization, expressing climbing activity relative to level walking, and maximum voluntary contraction normalization, with amplitudes expressed as a percentage of maximum voluntary contraction. Our results showed that all muscles were more active in climbing than walking, with quadriceps (vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris) exhibiting the greatest increases. Gastrocnemius also approached or exceeded 100%MVC, tibialis anterior averaged 70–80%MVC, and hamstrings contributed 20–40%MVC mainly for stabilization. Vertical and A-frame ladders followed similar patterns with subtle posture-related variations. These findings highlight knee extensors as primary targets for adaptive exoskeleton assistance during ladder climbing tasks commonly performed on construction sites. 

Building information modeling (BIM) and robotic technologies are revolutionizing the construction industry. The integration of BIM and robotics has the potential to enhance workforce skills, improve safety, and optimize construction processes. However, despite these promising benefits, a significant gap in systematic reviews on applying this integration within the industry is evident. This research addresses this crucial gap through a comprehensive and rigorous systematic literature review following the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) methodology. In our search within the Web of Science (WoS) database using a detailed search query, we identified 200 articles. After applying specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected 22 papers for review. This paper thoroughly examines the current applications of BIM and robotics in construction, focusing on specific scenarios where these technologies converge. It also delves into the mechanisms of data transfer, both real-time and otherwise, highlighting how BIM and robotics interact, and the efficiency gains achieved through their integration. Additionally, the paper explores future research directions, challenges, and opportunities within this domain, aiming to provide insights into how these emerging technologies can continue to evolve and address the construction industry's forthcoming needs.