Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc., a robotic exoskeleton company, announced today they have been accepted by the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) as an industry partner. Ekso Bionics and CSNE will work together to enrich the human machine interface and enhance potential neural interface to create links between the nervous system and the outside world.
The Company joins a distinguished network of research partners including Microsoft, Intel and Medtronic. Ekso Bionics will collaborate with these existing partners in support of CSNE's ultimate goal to merge education, research and innovation to rapidly advance technology and remain competitive in a global economy.
The Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering is based at the University of Washington in Seattle and is one of 20 Engineering Research Centers (ERC) across the country. ERCs promote partnerships across industries and universities to create a method of engineering research and education that integrates discovery with technological innovation. This complementary approach facilitates the translation of technology to marketable products and aims to produce graduates who will be U.S. innovators in a competitive economy. As part of an ERC, CSNE is additionally supported by the National Science Foundation, who has also been a supporter of Ekso Bionics.
"Ekso Bionics has strong foundations in the lab environment and we understand the challenges that come along with the desire to develop a new machine interface. Eighty percent of your time is spent on hardware development, ten percent in debugging, which leaves just ten percent of your time to do what you actually want to do - the research. Our exoskeleton platform enables CSNE to devote most of their time to research on the human machine interface" says Ekso Bionics co-founder Russ Angold. "It makes sense for Ekso Bionics to collaborate in an environment that affords us recruiting opportunities and the ability to sponsor directed research."
Rajesh Rao, director of the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering and associate professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington adds "Our expertise in decoding and interpreting brain signals is a perfect complement to Ekso Bionics' expertise in robotics and creating exoskeletons used in rehabilitation." Rajesh is currently working on several projects including brain-computer interface (BCI) control for a mobile robot.
Ekso Bionics designs, develops, and commercializes exoskeletons, or wearable robots, which have a variety of applications in the medical, military, industrial, and consumer markets. Exoskeletons are ready-to-wear, battery-powered robots that are strapped over the user's clothing, enabling individuals to achieve mobility, strength, and endurance not otherwise possible. Ekso Bionics' lead product, EksoTM, is a wearable bionic suit that enables individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness to stand up and walk over ground. Ekso is forging a new frontier in rehabilitation for people living with the consequences of stroke, spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions affecting gait.
About Ekso Bionics
Since 2005, Ekso Bionics has been pioneering the field of robotic exoskeletons, or wearable robots, to augment human strength, endurance and mobility. The company's first commercially available product called Ekso has helped thousands of people living with paralysis take millions of steps not otherwise possible. By designing and creating some of the most forward-thinking and innovative solutions for people looking to augment human capabilities, Ekso Bionics is helping people rethink current physical limitations and achieve the remarkable.
Ekso Bionics is headquartered in Richmond, CA and is listed on the OTC QB under the symbol EKSO. To learn more about Ekso Bionics please visit us at www.eksobionics.com