manmeet
Joined 13 years ago
Karma
241
Submissions
31
Member since
May 6
Recent submissions
Comment · 1 year ago
Launching the Levels of Exoskeleton Assistance—a clear, intuitive framework inspired by autonomous driving levels. This framework helps everyone—users, caregivers, therapists, researchers, and innovators alike—understand and track progress in exoskeleton development and automation
Comment · 5 years ago
This is amazing. I built one to help my nephew walk, and now selling commercially ( http://trexorobotics.com )
I am fed-up at the lack of options available to individuals. People thought that everyone will get an exoskeleton and be able to walk with it everywhere. But the industry ran into many challenges.
A big one that many dont understand is getting insurance coverage. The way the US healthcare system is designed, it will only cover restoration of mobility, not a restoration of function. So, from their perspective, a wheelchair and some pain meds can do the job easily.
I believe that they key is to start with children, this is where you have families desperate for a solution, higher costs due to them growing and spending their entire life in a wheelchair, and the option to truly have a life changing impact.
But things are changing, people are starting to notice the work that we are doing. We need a lot more people building exoskeletons and similar powered orthotics!!
Comment · 6 years ago
Looks like an incredibly poor analysis by someone desperately holding onto their short position.
Tesla owners don't use the supercharger daily. The author's assessment that most people do, is simply invalid. Based on my area and electricity costs (CAD $0.101/Kwh off-peak), the Model 3 costs 2.6 cents per mile (and not the 7 cents)
Also, the author takes in the upfront cost of the investment, to make the statement that it takes 20yrs to make your money back. However, he doesn't take into account the resale value of the same investemnt.
If you take that into account, the model 3 comes out cheaper: https://cleantechnica.com/2019/09/27/tesla-model-3-vs-toyota...
Comment · 7 years ago
The base actuator is an off the shelf maxon, with our custom sensors and custom motor controller.
In terms of motion control, safety was the most important piece when designing our system. There are safety checks in the mechanical, electrical and the software sub system. There is a maximum force that the controller exerts on the child, which can be lowered or increased for each child. In addition to the child resisting, we also had to account for spasticity and sudden tone while walking. The controller detects high resistance and caps off the max force it sends to the motor.
Comment · 7 years ago
That's a good point. Perhaps we can build a similar model to a car warranty where the actuators are covered for a longer period, but other components are not. Atleast it gives people a peace of mind regarding the most expensive items.
Comment · 7 years ago
Thank you!
Comment · 7 years ago
We have made significant progress towards lowering the price of our system, considering that similar devices up until now cost $75k-$150k. But it is still quite expensive for the vast majority.
Our price will continue to reduce over time, making it more accessible for both families and insurance.
Comment · 7 years ago
This price is based on our current costs of producing and servicing these units at our projected quantities.
It is still quite expensive for most families, unfortunately.
Our goal is to engage with insurance companies to make this more affordable and accessible for the larger population, based on the early adopters that are buying and the clinical studies we are doing.
Comment · 7 years ago
We are still producing at low quantities, but we have a pathway to bring down BOM costs with scale.
In terms of other applications, the technology that we are building can evolve for other uses over time, but its not a straight replacement. We wanted to target an immediate need that we saw in the world today.
Comment · 7 years ago
Thanks! We have done some case studies where we have found improvements in walking. However, the primary case is that by using this device to walk at home everyday, kids can avoid many of the complications that may arise from sitting, i.e contractures, hip subluxation and other issues.
We will be conducting clinical studies to evaluate the effectiveness of our device in helping reduce some of these complications.