Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 2 No. 2 Summer 2017 | Page 21

wear to help make lifting products easier.
“Over the past couple of years, human
assistive devices have become an area of
interest,” Asbeck said. “Our technology is
different in that it includes soft and flexible
elements, and our approach is unique in
that we are putting our prototypes in a
real-world environment for an extended
period of time.”
Asbeck, along with four undergraduate
and four graduate students in the Assistive
Robotics Laboratory, has since been design-
ing a soft, lightweight exosuit intended to
reduce the fatigue some Lowe’s employees
may experience while on the job, which
frequently requires lifting and moving heavy
or bulky products. As the user bends and
stands back up, the suit’s carbon fiber legs
act like a bow and arrow, storing the user’s
energy then returning it to them. This helps
the user spring back up with greater ease.
The first four suits are currently in use
by the stocking team at the Christiansburg
store. During the coming months, Asbeck
and his team will work with Lowe’s to assess
the physical impact of the suits. Lowe’s will
also lead employee engagement studies
to better understand the impact that the
exosuit has on the work experience.
“Lowe’s is committed to exploring oppor-
tunities that improve the workplace expe-
rience,” said Kyle Nel, executive director
of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, the company’s
disruptive technology hub. “As a way to
support our employees, we found a unique
opportunity to collaborate with Virginia Tech
to develop one of the first retail applications
for robotic exosuits.”
Taylor Pesek, a master’s candidate from Richfield,
Ohio, majoring in mechanical engineering, and Emily
Beauchamp, a master’s candidate from Norton, Virginia,
majoring in engineering mechanics, are two of the eight
students on the project. During development of the suit,
Pesek focused on mechanics while Beauchamp focused on
MOMENTUM SUMMER'17
the ergonomics and soft elements.
“Projects such as the Lowe’s exosuit really provide an
opportunity for engineers who sit behind desks most of
the time to really reach out and help other people,” Pesek
said. “My background was in robotics, where the tech-
nology was incredible, but still years away from showing
up in everyday life. The exciting thing about this exosuit is
that it will already be directly assisting people as it’s being
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