Wrapping a robot around a human

Author:chinatopwin
Source:chinatopwin
Release on:2018-05-05

After a quarter of a century, Richmond, Calif.’s 500,000-square-foot Ford Motor Company

Assembly Plant stopped making cars around the mid-1950s. These days, the space is home to

a broad range of companies, including Mountain Hardwear and solar panel manufacturer,

SunPower. But there is, perhaps, no tenant more suited for the space than Ekso Bionics.

Founded in 2005 as a spin-off of UC Berkeley’s Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory,

the company creates soft exoskeletons, designed to aid factory workers in tedious, repetitive

and taxing tasks.

Late last year, the startup fittingly partnered with Ford, bringing its wearable robotic suits to

Michigan factory workers. The deal, paid for by the United Auto Workers union, will lead to the

EksoVest’s deployment in factories all over the world. But Ekso’s focus moves beyond the

factory walls. As with so many other robotics companies, it began life in pursuit of military

funding.

“Originally the company was about helping soldiers carry heavy equipment in the field. One of

the founder’s brother was a Navy Seal,” explains Ekso CFO Max Scheder-Bieschin. “He was

injured and became a quadriplegic. It pivoted from ‘how do I build things to help my brother

serve our country’ to ‘how do I help my brother and other quadriplegics get up and walking

again’ with that same technology.”

The company’s Ekso Health line focuses on rehabilitation. Ekso’s suits offer lightweight,

wearable assistance to patients suffering mobility setbacks from things like strokes.

But Scheder-Bieschin says the company envisions a world in the not so distant future when

the technology is a ubiquitous part of our lives. “In 10 years, exoskeletons are going to be

analogous to the smartphone today,” the executive explains. “One of the things that

distinguishes Ekso is that we know how to wrap a robot around a human, and we do it

better than anybody else.”After a quarter of a century, Richmond, Calif.’s 500,000-square-

foot Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant stopped making cars around the mid-1950s.

These days, the space is home to a broad range of companies, including Mountain

Hardwear and solar panel manufacturer, SunPower. But there is, perhaps, no tenant

more suited for the space than Ekso Bionics.

Founded in 2005 as a spin-off of UC Berkeley’s Robotics and Human Engineering

Laboratory, the company creates soft exoskeletons, designed to aid factory workers in

tedious, repetitive and taxing tasks.

Late last year, the startup fittingly partnered with Ford, bringing its wearable robotic suits

to Michigan factory workers. The deal, paid for by the United Auto Workers union, will

lead to the EksoVest’s deployment in factories all over the world. But Ekso’s focus

moves beyond the factory walls. As with so many other robotics companies, it began

life in pursuit of military funding.

“Originally the company was about helping soldiers carry heavy equipment in the field.

One of the founder’s brother was a Navy Seal,” explains Ekso CFO Max Scheder-

Bieschin. “He was injured and became a quadriplegic. It pivoted from ‘how do I build

things to help my brother serve our country’ to ‘how do I help my brother and other

quadriplegics get up and walking again’ with that same technology.”

The company’s Ekso Health line focuses on rehabilitation. Ekso’s suits offer lightweight,

wearable assistance to patients suffering mobility setbacks from things like strokes.

But Scheder-Bieschin says the company envisions a world in the not so distant future

when the technology is a ubiquitous part of our lives. “In 10 years, exoskeletons are

going to be analogous to the smartphone today,” the executive explains. “One of the

things that distinguishes Ekso is that we know how to wrap a robot around a human,

and we do it better than anybody else.”