Type of Customer
Commercial, Academia
Target Market
Work
System Type
Full-sized Caplex System
Wearable Devices
Custom
Software
Caplex GUI, Caplex Controller
Introduction
Low back injuries are pervasive, costly, and debilitating for millions of individuals worldwide. Inspired by personal experience, Karl Zelik and his team at Vanderbilt University saw this as an opportunity to apply exoskeleton technology in a new way, with a soft, flexible, unobtrusive design that operates using a deceptively simple mechanism: reducing stress on the muscles supporting the lumbar spine. What began as a series of biomechanics studies powered by Caplex, rapidly translated into a commercial spin-off, HeroWear, with thousands of of units being used in the field by individuals performing stressful manual labor, in factories, warehouses, construction sites, military bases, and much more. Learn more about the science behind the Apex exosuit.
Collaborators
Humotech Features
Not Safe for Work: Reducing Pain and Injury With Exoskeletons
In today’s workforce status quo, certain jobs inevitably come with a higher risk for bodily injury. Warehouse operators, construction workers, health care workers, agricultural workers, and many essential jobs require lifting, bending, and repetitive movement that can strain the back and body.
Featured Press
Update: Characterizing the Comfort Limits of Applied Forces to Inform Exoskeleton Design
By Exoskeleton Report
Featured Research Publications
Characterizing the comfort limits of forces applied to the shoulders, thigh and shank to inform exosuit design
Yandell MB, Ziemnicki DM, McDonald KA, Zelik KE. (2020) PLoS One.
