Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HUMEXE (HUman EXoskEleton for autonomous movement control)
Reporting period: 2015-10-01 to 2016-03-31
The project is being developed by Tecnimusa, a leading company on providing innovative engineering solutions to their clients who cannot find a satisfying one among the current solutions in the market. Tecnimusa is an engineering SME, based on Murcia (southeast of Spain) and founded in 2011. Its main line of business is the providing and development of solutions consisting on the combination of different technologies to perform accurately their objective.
With these data a detailed plan to sequence the entry in the different markets has been set in place and the different business models have been evaluated in order to maximize the profitability of the project.
During this phase, the work plan for the next years has been studied, including the further development phase until the first sell (for its development it is foreseen to apply to Phase 2 of SME Instrument) and the first three years of commercialization of HUMEXE.
The level of mobility gained by paraplegia patients is absolute; the social impact of HUMEXE is great, as these patients by using HUMEXE patients become completely independent, reducing to the minimum the requirements of caregivers. The job insertion of the patients is easier, as the barriers existing for disabled people on a wheelchair are overcome with the exoskeleton (architectural barriers, but also barriers of the activity required at a job position not suitable to be carried out on a wheelchair). Self-esteem of patients increases enormously when recovering their independence.
Patients also see their general health condition improved because of the increase in their physical activity with HUMEXE, which prevents them of secondary diseases associated to the lack of activity of the lower limbs. This has also an effect on the reduction of the costs associated to the treatment of paraplegia.
HUMEXE proposes to change the paradigm on the design of exoskeletons by reducing to the minimum the robotics and computing requirements involved in the exoskeleton operation.