Project Overview

Whether you are moving boxes around the warehouse or moving packages for UPS, you know lifting is gruesome work. The V22 is a Self-Powered exoskeleton that makes lifting easier and safer. To make lifting safe, we started with the root of the problem, “the human body.” We created a technology that bolsters a worker’s musculoskeletal system making lifting more natural, safe and powerful. The V22 is the first precision lifting ErgoSkeleton in the world creating an entirely new category of safety equipment that enhances human performance.

StrongArm passive ergoskeleton is a load redistribution device that increases strength, reduces fatigue, reduces injury and turns average workers into Industrial Athletes

Organisation

StrongArm Technologies, Inc.

Team

A chance meeting between Justin Hillery and Sean Petterson in 2008 at RIT, led to the launch of StrongArm Technologies, Inc. and, subsequently, the invention of the ErgoSkeleton concepts. Now, V22 is the first passive device in the world that uses proven technology to enhance human lifting dynamics.

Growing up, Justin and Sean were both exposed to the toll that harsh work environments had on their fathers’ health and physical well-being. As athletes who took advantage of high performance equipment, they felt a strong desire to give their fathers the same advantage they had for carrying heavy loads, scaling steep pitched roofs, and handling hazardous materials. Drawn together by their common mission, Justin and Sean are inventing and manufacturing the industrial athletic performance equipment they wished their fathers had to make a difference in the lives of not only today’s workers, but also future generations.

At StrongArm they’re building a culture that challenges the notion of impossibility through innovative design and technological development. The company they have built is in the business of designing and manufacturing these “impossibilities”. The developments that they have been able to achieve in this area have broken new ground in the safety and performance of human lifting dynamics. Everyday these craftsmen of innovation are compelled by the ambition to empower and improve lives through their inventions.


Team :
Sean PETTERSON
Chief Executive Officer

He is an inventor / Investor / Gearhead from NY, NY and a serial entrepreneur in Real Estate, Powersports and Product development. Son of Ann & Glen Petterson, a retired Special Agent and Contractor. BS '2013 Rochester Institute of Technology in Industrial Design/ Entrepreneurship/ Mechanical Engineering. He is an extreme and endurance sportsman and musician.


Justin HILLERY
Founder/
Chief Marketing Officer

He is a seamster/ inventor/ marketer from Rochester NY and a serial entrepreneur in menswear and entertainment. Son of Linda & Lamont, a real-estate agent and lineman. BS ’2013 Rochester Institute of Technology in Marketing/ Communications/ Entrepreneurship. He is a sportsman in lacrosse, football and snowboarding.


Michael DOHYUN KIM
VP of Engineering

He is a mechanical design engineer with a mind for functionality and manufacturability from South Korea. Son of Seungrae Kang & Namwook Kim, an artist and fine arts teacher. BE ’2014 City College of New York in Mechanical Engineering. He is a grease monkey, cafe barista and tennis player.


Rahul BHANSALI
Chief Revenue Officer

He is the founder of a commodity brokerage firm, and cofounder of New Delhi’s first organic food home-delivery company. Son of Rajeev & Rashmi, a serial entrepreneur and an organic food producer. MBA ‘2010 Babson College, BS ‘2005 Penn State. A revenue strategy, pricing, & sales gearhead. He is a martial artist and oil painter.

Project Brief

The US Department of Labor describes back injuries as “the Nation’s #1 workplace safety problem” (OSHA Fact Sheet No. OSHA 89-09). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one million workers suffer back injuries each year - one in five workplace injuries. A 2011 Liberty Mutual Research Institute survey estimates the direct costs of lifting and carrying workplace injuries to be in excess of $30.6B and the indirect costs to be three to five times the direct costs. American companies spend over $80B annually in Workers’ Compensation insurance premiums.

These injuries not only have financial repercussions but social. The workers that get injured have families to go home to everyday.Every day with a hurt back is one less day spent with the familiy.


The is StrongArm v22™, is a revolutionary lifting device designed to
optimize a workforce's physical performance and safety allowing workers to go home safer and less fatigued.

Project Innovation/Need

Current solutions on the market that reduce lower back, shoulder and musculoskeltal injury associated with industrial lifting are too expensive, conveyor belts require factory redesigns, and the affordable devices have zero data validating efficacy.

In operation, the ErgoSkeleton and human musculoskeletal system co-generate Safety-Control and Power-Control in a single, integrated system. StrongArm uses novel load redistribution techniques as a platform for applying more technologies that advance human ergonomics to improve efficiency, productivity, health, and wellness.

The unique design feature of the StrongArm™ include multiple US patent Filings:

PCT/US2012/031440 ”
US UTILITY 13/878,914 ”
10/1/13 Putative EP, CA, JP, CN, AU ” + INTERNATIONAL
3/25/13 US PROV 61/804,785 Sensory-Feedback (SF)
3/25/13 US PROV 61/804,809 ” + Engineering Drawings
4/6/13 US PROV 61/809,342 Hand Effectors
6/20/13 US PROV 61/837,278 Hand Effectors – Medical Lifting
US PROV ErgoSkeletonTM – Medical Lifting


Strong Arm Technologies’ had to create quality ergonomic solutions that have an effective, validated, impact on workplace lifting safety. With this flagship product, Strong Arm Technologies is in the unique position to have significant demand before the product is even ready to launch.

Design Challenge

There are some products available that attempt to address this problem, the most well -known and widely used (by UPS, FedEx drivers, construction workers, etc) is the “back belt”. NONE of these devices have proven to be effective and in fact, the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that “although back belts are being bought and sold under the premise that they reduce the risk of back injury, there is insufficient scientific evidence that they actually deliver what is promised. The Institute, therefore, does not recommend the use of back belts as protective equipment against back injury.” (DHHS-NIOSH Pub. No. 94-127) Additional studies suggest that the use of the “back belt” may increase back injury risk by providing a false sense of confidence and/or causing the atrophy of back muscles.

The target market, rough tough materials handlers of America, are an incredibly difficult design challenge. The users were working in incredibly varied environments lifting varied loads. The users were high-paced, learning curve had to be low. And body types varied incredibly. StrongArm had to be robust, dynamic ergonomically, adjustable, simple to use and articulate.

Sustainability

StrongArm is manufactured right here in NY. The parts are sourced almost entirely in the state of NY with assembly on Long Island. The approach to sustainability for us starts with supply chain and ends with the end user.

Our supply chain thrives in NY in the surging manufacturing belt that has been growing with the influx of hardware startups here in NYC. Our manufacturing processes are efficient and green as they are manufactured at an injection molded facility that is run almost primarily off of wind turbines.

In addition to a lower carbon footprint, StrongArm provides sustainability to our nations backbone, the supply chain. Everything on store shelves touches the materials handing industry. There are 8MM materials handlers in America that risk a back injury everyday. At $60k an average injury and an average of 12 days off, StrongArm is allowing workers and their companies to avoid those cost and keep supply chains running efficiently. Most importantly it is sustaining the carriers of the aging workforce, who with StrongArm, can stay in the game longer.