COVER SERIES
Declaring
INDEPENDENCE
ATDev co-founder Owen Kent says robotic wheelchair technology is possible
By Michelle Love
Owen Kent knows how assistive technology can change someone’s life.
Kent lives with a form of muscular dystrophy that has caused him to use a wheelchair since he was 5 years old. Assistive technology and the need to find solutions to problems have always played a big part of his life—and in fact, his own experiences inspired Kent and his college roommate, Todd Roberts, to start ATDev, or Assistive Technology Development, a company striving to change the game in assistive mobility and rehabilitation technology.
The partners’ flagship product is a smart rehab device for use in at-home physical therapy, but they’re expanding into mobility as a subcontractor for the Robotic Assistive Mobility and Manipulation Platform (RAMMP), a federally funded program led by the University of Pittsburgh. The goal: To give end users more autonomy by creating the next generation of assistive mobility.
Owen Kent with his dog
Brainstorming & Building Together
In college, Kent studied film while Roberts earned his master’s degree in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on exoskeletons.
During that period, Kent had a robotic arm attached to his wheelchair, and he noticed it was helping him with his range of motion and making it easier to work on physical therapy. The two men put their heads together and realized they could combine exoskeleton technology with rehabilitation.
That’s where they got the idea for their first product, Reflex, a powered knee brace that people can use after knee replacement surgery or other knee injuries to complete at-home physical therapy. The brace is telehealth-enabled, allowing clinicians to remotely review each patient’s progress.
Roberts now serves as the company’s CEO, while Kent is the chief marketing officer, and the company says it’s creating an ecosystem of products to allow people to stay independent at home longer.
Kent is also active in advocacy to raise awareness not only about the company’s mission, but also about the current state of adaptive technology and its possibilities for the future.
“Advocacy is a big part of it and has always been a big part of my life,” he said. “Increasingly, technology is a bigger part of that conversation. I think for people with disabilities, having that access to technology is really important. I wouldn’t be able to run a company or live independently without a lot of the technology I have and obviously the caregivers who support me as well.”
An ATDev employee works on some of the company's mobility products.
A View Into the Future
Kent said they also use the company to show what’s possible through modern advances—and to demonstrate how tech can improve independence for people who, say, may have wanted to work but have had too difficult a time.
Kent said he wants to always be part of the conversation so investors and government officials can put a face on what people with disabilities are truly like and what they’re capable of.
“Looking at disability history, we’ve really come a long way,” Kent said. “There’s never really been a better time, at least here in the United States, to have the protections of the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] and a lot of the other things. But we do still have a long way to go. There are a lot of problems and there are a lot of laws being passed that are negatively affecting how people age in place and the services available to them. It’s very important that people still continue to advocate for equal access and equal pay.”
Kent said the overall feedback the company has received about the Reflex device, which has had a limited release, has been positive.
“We’ve been able to talk to a few of the end users who have used it after knee surgery, and to hear them say they wouldn’t have had as good a recovery without our device and they wouldn’t have had as much access to physical therapy without using what we made—it’s very satisfying,” Kent said. “And also hearing from physical therapists, too, that they’re able to help more people by using some of these new tools. We don’t believe that you’ll ever replace clinicians with devices, but what we can do is build them better tools so they can extend their reach. That’s a core belief that we have.”
From Robots to ‘Co-Bots’
Last fall, ATDev signed onto the RAMMP initiative, which runs under a $41 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. The company’s role includes leading the architectural design and development of a new operating system, simulation platform and key hardware components—all with the goal of combining AI controls, sensors and user interfaces to help users navigate semi-autonomously.
The initiative includes four other universities and at least two other private companies. Kent said the deal is a huge step in the direction ATDev wants to move toward.
“Our goal is to develop robotic wheelchairs, so taking what currently exists in power wheelchair technology and turning it into a robotic platform that can kind of be like a ‘co-bot’ or a companion that can help people stay more independent,” Kent said. “This is very exciting and a real big vision about that ecosystem of robotic devices.”
Kent thinks the future of assistive technology involves a lot of different devices, not just the single humanoid robot some people envision.
“It’s really exciting," he said. "Because there’s really a lot of potential to enhance people’s lives by providing them with better technology.”
Michelle Love is associate editor for HomeCare Media.
Photos courtesy of ATDev
