Robots That You Wear
Featuring Brendan Quinlivan '14
When you hear the word ‘exoskeleton’ you might think of Tony Stark’s Ironman. But instead of helping you lift cars and fight supervillains, today’s exoskeletons make it easier to run a mile or allow your back to feel less sore after a day of yard work. Brendan has spent the last 10 years developing lightweight, soft wearable robots to help us with everyday tasks.
In this talk, Brendan shares the latest news in wearable robots and how they are being used in healthcare, the military, and your grocery store.
About Brendan
After graduating from Olin, Brendan Quinlivan (Class of 2014) completed his PhD at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. A National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Scholar, Brendan’s research focused on wearable robotics, which lies at the intersection of robotics, functional apparel, and human movement science. At Harvard, Brendan and his colleagues developed soft exosuits that can reduce the energy expenditure of walking (-15%) and running (-5%). Additionally, Brendan developed a lightweight, low-profile robot for at home gait rehabilitation of stroke survivors that was licensed to ReWalk Robotics and recently received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation. After completing his PhD in 2020, Brendan joined Verve Motion, a startup in Cambridge, MA building a wearable robot to reduce fatigue and back injury for industrial warehouse workers.
From soldiers to stroke survivors to warehouse workers, Brendan has a passion for improving people’s quality of life through technology that you can wear!
