Case Study: Humotech rapidly commercializes its Caplex wearable prosthesis tester with MathWorks (MATLAB & Simulink)

Academic Startup Humotech Turns Wearable Device into Commercial Product

Humotech, a Carnegie Mellon–incubated startup, needed to commercialize Caplex—a programmable robotic system that emulates the physical behavior of prostheses and other wearable assistive devices—while keeping the wearable component lightweight and tethered to remote actuation. To accelerate the transition from research to market and control software costs, Humotech used MathWorks tools, including MATLAB, Simulink, and Simulink Real-Time, and participated in the MathWorks startup program.

Humotech implemented a two-level control architecture in Simulink (low-level PID and higher-level impedance control), deployed on Speedgoat real-time hardware via Simulink Real-Time, and shipped a customizable Simulink library so customers can tune or extend controllers. With MathWorks’ products and startup support, the company streamlined its move from academia, reduced expenses, gets customers up and running within a day, and now has Caplex test-drive applications under evaluation by the U.S. DoD and VA in clinical trials.

Humotech

Josh Caputo

CEO