Ekso Bionics Holdings has received a grant to begin work on the second phase of the TALOS project, according to a press release.
United States Special Operation Command (SOCOM) announced last year that it was working to create a wearable uniform that provides superhuman capabilities with superior mobility and protection for its Special Operations Forces. The project is slated to involve four phases, with the second phase to be delivered in the latter part of 2015, according to the release.
With the second phase of the project underway, the contract marks more than $35 million in total third-party-funded development work done by the Ekso Bionics engineering team.
“We are honored and excited to continue to play such an integral role in the TALOS project for SOCOM,” Russ Angold, president of Ekso Labs and co-founder of Ekso Bionics, said in the release. “Building on the success of our first phase, we are doubling our efforts this year to accelerate the development of an advanced exoskeleton that will deliver super human capabilities to SOCOM.”
Ekso Bionics has teamed with Stanford University’s OpenSim, a simulation software network, and the Robotics Program at SRI International, to build the exoskeleton, according to the release.
“This is an important challenge that can improve user mobility and protection,” Rich Mahoney, PhD, director of the robotics program at SRI Robotics, said in the release. “We are excited to team with Ekso Bionics and eager to share our expertise and technical capabilities to create a new generation of high-performance exoskeletons.”
Reference: www.eskobionics.com.
