Saturday, November 22, 2025 11/22/2025

Environmental Imaging and Control for Exoskeletons to Improve Safety and Mobility

Award Number: R44AG053890
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2017
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2022

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Environmental Imaging and Control for Exoskeletons to Improve Safety and Mobility - Innovative Design Labs (IDL) proposes to create a system to improve the mobility and control of exoskeletons. Recent research has found that 3.86 million Americans require wheelchairs and the number has been increasing annually by an average annual rate of 5.9% per year. While wheelchairs provide freedom, allowing users to be independent as well as reducing dependence upon others, wheelchair use is not physically or emotionally equivalent to walking and is often thought to limit community participation and thus exacerbate social isolation. Robotic exoskeletons/bionic suits have the potential to enable these individuals to stand up and walk, thus providing a way to more fully reintegrate these individuals into society. Our proposal seeks to address one of the hurdles limiting the widespread adoption of exoskeletons in the home and community—the inability of the user to dynamically control gait parameters. This concept has the potential to significantly change the way exoskeletons work and facilitate their adoption into the market. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the proposed solution will provide users a practical way to adjust their suit’s gait to precisely achieve their navigational goals. Specific Aims: Phase I: 1) Build a prototype and Perform Preliminary Laboratory Testing; 2) Develop and Benchmark Algorithms; and 3) Perform Pilot Human Study of Prototype with Exoskeleton Subjects. Phase II: 1) Develop Customized, Production-Ready Hardware and Firmware 2) Integrate with Exoskeleton Control System; and 3) Perform an evaluation of the system through human study testing.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2023	2019	INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS INC	861 E HENNEPIN AVE	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55414	HENNEPIN	USA	Aging Research	000	3	12/1/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2021	2019	INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS INC.	861 E HENNEPIN AVE STE 450	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55414	HENNEPIN	USA	Aging Research	000	3	6/11/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $814,735 )
2019	2019	INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS INC.	861 E HENNEPIN AVE STE 450	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55414	HENNEPIN	USA	Aging Research	000	3	5/31/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$814,735
														Subtotal = $814,735

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2018	2017	INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS INC.	861 E HENNEPIN AVE STE 450	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55414	HENNEPIN	USA	Aging Research	000	2	6/28/2018	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $562,410 )
2017	2017	INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS, INC	95 7TH AVE NE	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55413	HENNEPIN	USA	Aging Research	001	2	9/22/2017	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$562,410
2017	2016	INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS, INC	95 7TH AVE NE	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55413	HENNEPIN	USA	Aging Research	000	1	3/21/2017	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $562,410

Issue Date FY: 2016 ( Subtotal = $224,990 )
2016	2016	INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS INC	6901 EAST FISH LAKE ROAD	MAPLE GROVE	MN	55369	HENNEPIN	USA	Aging Research	000	1	6/16/2016	NEW	$224,990
														Subtotal = $224,990

Grand Total All Awards = $1,602,135

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Environmental Imaging and Control for Exoskeletons to Improve Safety and Mobility

Award Number: R44AG053890

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2017

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2022

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer