Herowear: The Exosuit Nirvana for Material Handlers

Crafted to deliver assistance, comfort, and freedom of movement, HeroWear’s Apex is a futuristic yet realistic endurance exosuit primarily designed for material handling workers and others who frequently bend or lift on the job. The company addresses the market need for an exosuit that assists workers without compromising convenience and ease of use.

It’s a no-brainer that, for people engaging in physically taxing material handling jobs, safety and health turn into productivity. One of the major concerns of these workers is back pain and fatigue induced by muscle micro-damage. And evolving interest in industrial safety has brought wearable tech adoption—along the lines of Protective Equipment(PPE) like exosuits—to the forefront. However, most equipment of this kind is heavily focused on being assistive, often built bulky with batteries, motors, or sensors. Although these types of equipment may offer assistance in lifting objects, they are not ideal for an employee working eight hours doing repetitive actions. Moreover, they limit movement, offering little comfort and slowing the workers down. This is where HeroWear’s turns the tables. “Our mission is to augment safety and productivity for people who are doing any type of physically demanding jobs like material handling,” says Mark Harris, CEO, HeroWear.

Drawing insights from years of research and professional experience, Karl Zelik, Chief Scientific Officer, and Matt Yandell, Chief Innovation Officer, developed the Apex at the labs of Vanderbilt University’s Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology. They noticed that a significant portion of user feedback from their earlier prototypes emphasized comfort and practicality along with the assistive factor. Taking that as crucial design pillar, Apex is designed as a lightweight, low-profile exosuit. “Apex is the culmination of our learning years in biomechanical science, wearable technology, and user feedback,” prides Yandell.

Apex comprises passive elastic bands, engineered to act as artificial back muscles and offloads strain felt on a person’s lower back during squatting, bending, or lifting objects. The product has a backpack-like upper part while its lower part is attached to thighs. Tested at the world’s leading labs, it was proven to reduce 15 to 20% strain on back muscles during lifting and up to 40% during bending tasks.

The solution houses a patent-pending dual-mode switch which enables the back assistance to be turned on or off depending on workers’ needs. This feature is a key differentiator as it renders the product inert when turned off, enabling the wearer to move freely within tight spaces or even crawl, sit, or climb up a ladder. Staying focused on user-centricity, the firm has incorporated modularity into Apex’s textile-based design, allowing over 50 combinations in terms of size alone. Contrary to one-size-fits-all exosuit options available in the market, wearers can customize Apex to best benefit from its perfect fit and support. Once clients’ send their sizing requirements, the company has an on-site implementation team to help educate users on the use and maintenance of the product.

HeroWear also understands that fitting goes beyond sizing, and that gender is decisive factor as well. To this end, the company duly recognizes the need for a comfortable women-centric designs. After all, more than 45% of the workforce in the material handling line are women, and most unisex exosuits are predominantly men-centric designs. HeroWear has introduced an industry-first exosuit for women. This exemplifies their customer centricity and commitment. “We are constantly taking into account customers’ needs and feedback while upgrading our products,” says Zelik.

With such immense value proposition, HeroWear caters to a wide array of clients. Harris recalls how in 16-week field study for testing the real-time impact of Apex, all workers who utilized Apex daily reported their perceived exertion at work decreased by an average of 30%. Back pain and discomfort were also reduced by 40%.

To help workers involved in comparatively lesser manual work who still require an assistive tech to a certain degree, HeroWear has recently released new modular parts for Apex exosuits that offer a lower level of assistance. The company has also established partnerships for international distribution in more than 15 countries. HeroWear is working towards a future where its exosuit technology is ubiquitous as power drills. “We envision to roll out this technology over time for the masses to augment people’s bodies in a way that reduces their injury risks and allows them to live healthier, more fulfilling lives.” concludes Harris.