茄子直播

茄子直播 startup Trexo Robotics takes another step forward with children's 'Iron Man' exoskeleton

Photo of Manmeet Maggu and Rahul Udasi
Manmeet Maggu and Rahul Udasi, pictured here shortly after completing 茄子直播's Creative Destruction Lab accelerator program, took home first prize in a Sunnybrook Hospital pitch competition (photo by Chris Sorensen)

Just like the purposeful gait of their child-sized robotic exoskeleton, the entrepreneurs behind University of Toronto startup Trexo Robotics are propelling their young business forward one step at a time.

Co-founders Manmeet Maggu and Rahul Udasi this week took first prize in a pitch competition organized by the philanthropic arm of Sunnybrook Hospital in partnership with 茄子直播鈥檚 Health Innovation Hub, or H2i, incubator, among others.

The judges, including representatives from private equity funds and medical device companies, were won over by Trexo鈥檚 vision to help children living with physical challenges swap their wheelchair for a walker-like device equipped with robotic "Iron Man" leg attachments.

鈥淭he prize is going to be really helpful in enabling us to reach a commercial point,鈥 said Maggu of the roughly $35,000 that Trexo will take home. 

鈥淭he next batch of products we make, I鈥檒l be taking one back to India for my nephew.鈥

That would be nine-year-old Praneit, who has cerebral palsy. He inspired Maggu and Udasi to build a robotic exoskeleton prototype while they were studying engineering at the University of Waterloo. The idea ultimately led to the launch of a promising startup after the pair arrived at 茄子直播, where Maggu did an MBA at the Rotman School of Management and Udasi completed a master鈥檚 in engineering.

In the summer of 2016, Maggu and Udasi packed the prototype exoskeleton in a suitcase and flew to India to visit Maggu鈥檚 brother, his wife and Praneit, who tried out the device in the middle of the living room. 

鈥淲atching Praneit take his first steps using our device was an incredibly proud moment for us,鈥 Maggu told 茄子直播 News back in June.

Read more about Trexo Robotics i

Trexo鈥檚 evolution from cool technology to promising startup is a case study in the advantages of launching a startup at 茄子直播. Over a period of just 24 months, Maggu and Udasi drew on the resources and multidisciplinary expertise of no less than four 茄子直播 entrepreneurship hubs to help get Trexo off the ground. They were: H2i, the Entrepreneurship Hatchery, the Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab (DCSIL) and the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL). 

鈥淥ur product is really unique,鈥 said Maggu. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a health care aspect, computer science and the engineering, so we benefited a lot from being involved with all these different accelerators at 茄子直播.鈥

Following Trexo鈥檚 completion of CDL鈥檚 rigorous nine-month program earlier this year, Maggu and Udasi left to participate in New York's Techstars IoT accelerator program, which Maggu says helped to further fine-tune Trexo鈥檚 business plan.

It also helped open doors in the huge U.S. market 鈥 including at the Cincinnati Children鈥檚 Hospital Medical Center.

鈥淭hey saw our device and were really excited about it,鈥 said Maggu. 鈥淲e鈥檙e planning to start pilot studies with them early next year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the largest children鈥檚 rehabilitation program in the United States, so getting recognition from them was really amazing for us.鈥

 

UTC