The concept for Intelligent Assist Devices (IADs) started in 1995, when a small group of engineers from the automotive industry (General Motors and Ford) approached our founders, who are professors of mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, and tasked them with combining the benefits of robotics with the flexibility of the human worker.

Unlike conventional robotics, these devices are designed to interact with and assist the human worker. In some cases that will take the form of power assist and strength augmentation, and in other cases the device will operate in semi-autonomous modes where portions of the task are done by the machine with others done by the human.

The field of IADs is starting to grow very rapidly. There is a safety standard (Accredited Standards Committee T15, Intelligent Assist Devices) that is being overseen by the Robotics Industries Association. Numerous Fortune 500 manufacturers, both inside and outside the auto industry, are embracing this technology and implementing it into their facilities. The advantages of computer controlled, servo driven material handling devices allow for increases in productivity and ergonomics that simply are not available from conventional pneumatic solutions.

IADs are designed for flexibility and ease of configuration. For example, our devices store individual operator profiles that can adjust the speed and sensitivity of the device to suit the particular operator or application. With regard to flexibility the devices can be reconfigured for new operations with a simple, Windows-based programming environment, requiring only minimal training.