Launch HN: Trexo Robotics (YC W19) – Robotic Legs for Kids with Cerebral Palsy • Hacker News Board

Re: Launch HN: Trexo Robotics (YC W19) – Robotic Legs for Kids with Cerebral Palsy

#21

Post by manmeet » Tue, Apr 30, 2019, 2:02 PM UTC

betimsl wrote: post #16

How do you justify the price of $1k/mo? -- isn't that a bit too much?

We have made significant progress towards lowering the price of our system, considering that similar devices up until now cost $75k-$150k. But it is still quite expensive for the vast majority. Our price will continue to reduce over time, making it more accessible for both families and insurance.

Re: Launch HN: Trexo Robotics (YC W19) – Robotic Legs for Kids with Cerebral Palsy

#22

Post by manmeet » Tue, Apr 30, 2019, 2:02 PM UTC

jayjay71 wrote: post #11

I just want to congratulate you on launching a product that I hope will have an incredibly positive impact for numerous families. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor!

Thank you!

Re: Launch HN: Trexo Robotics (YC W19) – Robotic Legs for Kids with Cerebral Palsy

#23

Post by manmeet » Tue, Apr 30, 2019, 2:04 PM UTC

jamestimmins wrote: post #12

This looks pretty amazing, and it's exciting to see this technology applied to an area that is likely overlooked but extremely important. I noticed that the full purchase option only comes with a 2 year warranty. That seems a bit short, no? Given that this costs as much as a car, I'd expect a warranty similar to what you'd find on a Honda, for example. I'm not your target audience, so take that with a few grains of s…

That's a good point. Perhaps we can build a similar model to a car warranty where the actuators are covered for a longer period, but other components are not. Atleast it gives people a peace of mind regarding the most expensive items.

Re: Launch HN: Trexo Robotics (YC W19) – Robotic Legs for Kids with Cerebral Palsy

#24

Post by manmeet » Tue, Apr 30, 2019, 2:09 PM UTC

balfirevic wrote: post #15

Congratulations, this looks fantastic! I'm afraid I don't have anything useful to contribute from medical standpoint, but I have a couple of technical questions if you don't mind. What kind of actuators are you using (motors/transmission/motor controller)? Are they off-the-shelf parts or developed in-house? What is approximate power/torque? How did you approach the motion control aspect from the user-safety standpoin…

The base actuator is an off the shelf maxon, with our custom sensors and custom motor controller. In terms of motion control, safety was the most important piece when designing our system. There are safety checks in the mechanical, electrical and the software sub system. There is a maximum force that the controller exerts on the child, which can be lowered or increased for each child. In addition to the child resisting, we also had to account for spasticity and sudden tone while walking. The controller detects high resistance and caps off the max force it sends to the motor.