Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Exoskeleton to enhance safety, retention for aerial porters, othersPublished Oct. 16, 2022
                    
                    By Gina Marie Giardina
                    
                    
                    Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs
            **WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) --**The pneumatically-powered exoskeleton, developed by ROAM Robotics as part of a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant, is displayed during an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration Oct. 6, 2022, at the Air Force Reserve Command’s 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.The pneumatically-powered exoskeleton, developed by ROAM Robotics as part of a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant, is displayed during an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2022. The exoskeleton was designed to assist aerial porters load and unload heavy cargo and is intended to minimize manpower and prevent injuries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick O’Reilly)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    










**Air Force Research Laboratory**’s **Center for Rapid Innovation**, or CRI, held an event Oct. 6 with the **Air Force Reserve Command**’s **445th Airlift Wing** for a ROAM Robotics team to demonstrate the latest Forge System, a pneumatically-powered exoskeleton that augments leg strength to reduce fatigue, increase endurance and offset weight.The event began with a presentation of the pneumatically-powered exoskeleton system, which is supported by Direct to Phase II **Small Business Innovation Research** project called **Radical Improvements in Personnel Performance through Enhanced Development**, or RIPPED.Two aerial porters from the 87th Aerial Port Squadron waited in the back of a **C-17 Globemaster III** to demonstrate the technology. Aerial porters are responsible for the management and movement of passengers and cargo transported through airlift. The cargo that aerial porter teams load and unload can range from large pallets of equipment, gear and food.Chief Master Sgt. Sean Storms, 87th APS aerial port manager, and Senior Master Sgt. Brian Anders, 87th APS assistant aerial port manager, donned the technology, which consisted of actuated leg braces and a backpack, and moved a pallet that weighed about 3,500 pounds. The two porters equipped with the Forge System moved the pallet on their own, a weight typically moved by four or five people.“I can definitely tell a difference; there’s a lot less pressure on my knees and I can feel the assist this system gives,” Storms said.Following the demo, participants were invited to try out the exoskeleton. Some climbed a set of stairs while carrying weights. Others tested it by pushing a weighted sled. Regardless of the test, participants could hear the exoskeleton’s air bladder actuators engaging as they moved.Brig. Gen. John Andrus, commander of 711th Human Performance Wing in the Air Force Research Laboratory, dons the pneumatically-powered exoskeleton with assistance from Dr. Linus Park with ROAM Robotics during an AFRL demonstration Oct. 6, 2022, at the 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.Brig. Gen. John Andrus, 711th Human Performance Wing commander, dons the pneumatically-powered exoskeleton with assistance from Dr. Linus Park, ROAM Robotics member, during an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2022. The exoskeleton was designed to assist aerial porters load and unload heavy cargo and is intended to minimize manpower and prevent injuries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick O’Reilly)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res
    
    Brig. Gen. John Andrus, commander of 711th Human Performance Wing in the Air Force Research Laboratory, pushes a weighted sled while wearing the pneumatically-powered exoskeleton during an AFRL demonstration Oct. 6, 2022, at the Air Force Reserve Command’s 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.Brig. Gen. John Andrus, 711th Human Performance Wing commander, pushes a weighted sled while wearing the pneumatically-powered exoskeleton during an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2022. The exoskeleton was designed to assist aerial porters load and unload heavy cargo and is intended to minimize manpower and prevent injuries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick O’Reilly)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res
    
    2nd Lt. Ian Casciola, special warfare electrical engineer with the 711th Human Performance Wing in AFRL, performs a squat while wearing a pneumatically-powered exoskeleton system, developed by ROAM Robotics, during an AFRL demonstration Oct. 6, 2022, at the 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.Second Lt. Ian Casciola, 711th Human Performance Wing special warfare electrical engineer, performs a squat while wearing a pneumatically-powered exoskeleton system during an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2022. The exoskeleton was designed to assist aerial porters load and unload heavy cargo and is intended to minimize manpower and prevent injuries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick O’Reilly)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res
John Florio, CRI deputy director, explained that this technology could be a game changer for the aerial port community.“If this is optimized for the aerial porters’ particular missions, it is going to mean that teams will be able to load heavier objects on aircraft much faster using less people, which equates to saving the government and taxpayer money,” he said. “But the biggest game changer for the Air and Space Forces is less injuries to personnel, which can lead to longer careers.”Florio explained the weight the aerial porters are required to move during missions, sometimes in austere environments or under fire is unlike what some may experience when moving to a new home or office.“If you’ve ever loaded anything in an office or maybe at home like a refrigerator — anything like that is small compared to what our aerial porters are loading,” Florio said. “For them, we’re talking about large pieces of cargo going into a large aircraft. So knees are under stress; ankles are under stress; backs are under stress; muscles all over the body are under stress. I've talked to a lot of the people here in the maintenance squadron, and chronic injuries are rampant all over this particular career field and in other related fields too.” Chief Master Sgt. Sean Storms, aerial port manager with the Air Force Reserve Command’s 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio pushes oversized cargo across the floor of a C-17 Oct. 6, 2022, during an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration of a pneumatically-powered exoskeleton system developed by ROAM Robotics.Chief Master Sgt. Sean Storms, 445th Airlift Wing aerial port manager, pushes oversized cargo across the floor of a C-17 Globemaster III during an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration of a pneumatically-powered exoskeleton system at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2022. The exoskeleton was designed to assist aerial porters load and unload heavy cargo and is intended to minimize manpower and prevent injuries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick O’Reilly)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    









**Brig. Gen. John Andrus**, **711th Human Performance Wing** commander, who also attended the demonstration.“I can see additional uses for this pneumatically-powered exoskeleton, primarily in aeromedical evacuation missions where our medical personnel are lifting large litters of sick and injured warfighters into the back of aircraft,” Andrus said. “We have to think about the safety of our medical personnel, but also the safety of those we are treating and evacuating out of harm’s way.”Participants asked about other potential career fields that might benefit from the assisted technology. Tim Swift, ROAM Robotics CEO, stated the system could be adapted to fit other missions, but for now, attention was on providing relief to the aerial porter community, which he said sees an estimated $31 million in annual disability benefits and suffers from lost workday injuries.“The opportunity to have something like this exoskeleton, that provides a capability that augments the aerial porter’s strength, that takes pressure off joints, that makes their muscles work more efficiently, and in the long run, that prevents overuse injuries – well, it's going to be a game changer,” Florio said.FS 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



AFRL 



Air Force Research Laboratory 



exoskeleton 



Center for Rapid Innovation 



CRI 



AFRC 



Air Force Reserve Command 



aerial porters 



space force 



711th Human Performance Wing 



711th HPW 



prevention 



chronic injuries Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil