ABOUT
Accelerating Innovation
Humotech provides a platform to support research & development of prostheses, exoskeletons, and other wearable machines. We accelerate discovery of innovative real-world solutions to enhance and augment human mobility through Caplex™ – a testbed for systematic exploration of the mechanics of wearable machines. Our systems support experimenters and designers across sectors exploring new approaches to solving the complex challenges of human/device interactions, in order to improve health outcomes and push the boundaries of human physical performance.
Our Mission
To transform the way the world develops and uses wearable machines.
What is a wearable machine?
Many terms have been used to describe the various devices we consider. This can get pretty confusing, so we’ve coined a new term that we believe encapsulates them all. A wearable machine is a device worn on the body that interacts forcefully with the user to affect their motion, including:
- Devices such as prosthetics, orthotics, exoskeletons, exosuits, wearable robotics, and beyond
- Intended uses such as assistance, resistance, rehabilitation, training, augmentation, support, and beyond
Our Vision
We want all individuals to be able to leverage the best available technology in order to realize their mobility goals and improve their lives.
Our Values
- We recognize our team as our greatest strength and believe that inclusive collaboration with end users and our customers is the path to progress.
- We place people and the planet before profits, and we prioritize long-term sustainability over short-term gains.
- We aspire to be leaders in innovation and quality through continuous self-improvement.
Our Story: Where We Came from & Where We’re Headed
We began as a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off in 2015, starting with a deceptively simple question that arose while developing a powered prosthetic ankle: what if instead of building prototype after prototype, we could evaluate novel wearable machine concepts by programming a robot to emulate them in real time while a user walked? Could a similar approach also be used to support clinical decision-making? Could such an approach pave the way for greater cooperation between insurance companies, clinicians, and patients?
The work of answering those questions, which grew out of Founder, President, and CEO Josh Caputo’s doctoral work at CMU’s Experimental Biomechatronics Laboratory, led to our first product, the Caplex PRO-001, the first of many Humotech wearable devices.
Considering tough technical problems within their larger context has been part of Humotech’s philosophy from the beginning. Paying attention to the bigger picture allows us to explore wide-ranging, innovative approaches that lead to multi-faceted solutions.
Today, our holistic human-centered approach and unique technology has helped to create a platform of tools and know-how, and a supportive community that enables engineers, scientists, developers, practitioners, and users to innovate more successfully wherever mobility challenges persist and wearable devices are imagined.
