SRI International spins off robotics project as Superflex, aiming at human augmentation

SRI International spins off robotics project as Superflex, aiming at human augmentation

Nonprofit research organization SRI International is spinning off part of its robotics division into a new company called Superflex. It won’t be focusing not on industrial robots or the like, but rather robotic augmentations for people — mainly to help the disabled take on everyday tasks, not $6 Million Dollar Man stuff.

Rich Mahoney (a Crunch Network contributor, by the way) will head up the new company. He’s been with SRI since 2008, but has worked in assistive robotics for much longer.

“There’s a lot of interest in this area, a lot of expectations, of robotics and wearable robotics,” said Mahoney in a phone interview with TechCrunch. “SRI is a critical part of the innovation process, but you can’t create a product without engaging with the market and responding to real customers.”

Superflex is actually the name of the company’s prototype, a full-body suit filled with soft muscle-like actuators that detect your movements and give them a boost. But the suit, which has been in development for several years now, isn’t about jumping over buildings or punching through walls. Instead, that little boost is intended to be the difference that lets someone in physical therapy walk normally, or prevents a soldier getting lumbar problems from carrying 50 pounds on her back all day.

Read more at Tech Crunch