Lab Transforms Bodysuit Made For War Into Aid For The Disabled

SRI International spun off robotics lab Superflex Inc. on Thursday to develop a cutting-edge wearable suit to help disabled individuals.

The wearables made by Superflex enhance the human musculoskeletal system and were originally developed for the DARPA-funded “Warrior Web” program to enhance soldier performance. Superflex is the name of the company’s prototype bodysuit that gives users’ movements an extra push. While the futuristic wearable sounds suitable for Iron Man, the wearable is intended to help a user in physical therapy walk normally or aid a soldier carrying heavy loads.

Rich Mahoney will lead the new company, which will be based on the Menlo Park, California SRI campus. Mahoney is returning to his roots in early stage commercialization of robotics after more than seven years as the director of SRI Robotics.

“SRI has always operated at the epicenter of global robotics innovation, while solving some of the toughest technological challenges, and the evolution of Superflex is a great demonstration of those capabilities,” Manish Kothari, president of SRI Ventures, said in press release. “The spin-off of Superflex is a testament to SRI’s immensely talented and productive robotics team.”

Superflex expects to announce its product focus by the end of the year. While there is the capacity to gear the tech toward people interested in performing superhuman feats of strength, the company wants to develop it for users who need it in daily life or for specialized jobs.

“There’s opportunity to create products that will enhance performance, maybe like for extreme sports kinds of scenarios, but there are just so many people that don’t have good options for living a normal life, in terms of their mobility and the ways they can engage with the world,” Mahoney told TechCrunch. “There’s a preference for us to really do something worthwhile with this technology.”

Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal, Gina Hall
Photo: SRI International’s “Superflex” exosuit aims to enhance mobility like a bulky exoskeleton without bogging the user down with heavy components.