High fidelity prototype development of a robotic exoskeleton

Paraplegia and other lower-body mobility disorders affect millions of people, severely limiting one’s ability to enjoy free movement. Human in Motion Robotics (HMR) is developing Exomotion, a wearable robotic exoskeleton that enables users to stand and walk without need of crutches or an attendant. Creating prototype health technologies needed to secure investment requires skilled labour and expensive resources, and Exomotion was no exception. Being on a tight timeline, and needing flexible and non-dilutive funding, HMR turned to Digital Health Circle for support. DHC worked with HMR to provide short duration, easily accessible, non-dilutive funding to support contractors working to develop Exomotion. Digital Health Circle provided matched funding for a 5-month, $200k project, while also acting as the cost and project management centre for HMR, helping their money go further while relieving some of its operations burdens. With support from Digital Health Circle, HMR was able to develop their generation 3 prototype, refining the control software, hardware design, and incorporating a new and improved form factor. In March 2020 HMR successfully raised an oversubscribed $2.7M funding round, further advancing the development and deployment of their exoskeleton technology.