Berkeley Bionics ™ was founded by individuals who are or have been associated with the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory. This laboratory has a long history of original design and control approaches for robotics systems that collaborate with humans. In 2000, the University of California at Berkeley, with a grant from DARPA, began conducting fundamental research on the feasibility of exoskeletons for human performance augmentation. This project answered many key scientific questions and led to the first-in-the-world load-carrying lower extremity exoskeleton (commonly referred to as BLEEX). Berkeley Bionics ™ has a licensing agreement with the University of California on all BLEEX technologies developed at the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory.

Working with UC Berkeley's scientists, world-class product design engineers at Berkeley Bionics ™ have now brought the outcome of Berkeley research work to fruition. By analyzing human motions in real-life maneuvers and environments, Berkeley Bionics' engineers have used non-traditional approaches to electromechanical design, control sciences, and power delivery systems to design and build state-of-the-art load-carrying, computer controlled exoskeletons for applications that demand robustness and performance. Our new approach in creating these remarkable exoskeletons uniquely positions Berkeley Bionics™ as the first company in the world to bring exoskeletons to market. Berkeley Bionics™ has currently designed three super light, load-carrying exoskeletons: ExoHiker™ , ExoClimber™, and HULC™. The wearer's comfort, the machine's strength, and the efficient power delivery system have been the hallmarks of these distinct and innovative exoskeletons.

 

	Dr. B ruce Borup, CEO. Immediately prior to this position he served as the CEO of the Cape Fox Corporation where he led their growth from a local $8 million company to a $200 million diversified federal contracting company with operations in eight countries and thirty-two states. He earned a spot on the Inc. 500 list for this performance, as well as the #1 rank on the list of the fastest growing defense contractors in the United States . Bruce graduated from Law School in England , has a Masters Degree in Marketing and a PhD in Business. Previous to his position at Cape Fox , Bruce was the Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Chair of the Business Department at Alaska Pacific University . In addition to his twenty plus years of leadership in business, Bruce spent six years in the Army as an Infantry Officer, Arctic Paratrooper and Airborne Ranger.
	Nathan Harding, COO. Nathan has extensive experience creating and managing teams in environments where multiple technologies are intermingled. During his work as a consultant to the Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory, Nathan was instrumental in inspiring the laboratory members toward robust and elegant solutions to DARPA's needs. Before working in the lab, Nathan served as Mechanical Engineering Manager at Berkeley Process Control where he created a first rate mechanical design group. The group quickly established itself as a major player in the market for optical fiber manufacturing equipment. Nathan has an MS in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley and a BS in mechanical engineering and economics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
	Russ Angold, VP Engineering. Russ is a California registered Professional Mechanical Engineer and has a diverse engineering background developing patented products in numerous industries. Prior to joining Berkeley Bionics, Russ worked as a New Product Development Engineer for Rain Bird Corp. During his tenure Russ developed several innovative products and manufacturing processes for the world's largest irrigation company. Russ worked at Berkeley Process Control as a Mechanical Design Engineer, primarily designing and developing high speed optical fiber manufacturing machines and wafer handling equipment. Russ has a BS Degree from California Polytechnic State University , San Luis Obispo in BioResource and Agricultural Engineering.
	Dr. Kazerooni (Kaz), Founder. Kaz is one of the world's leading experts in Robotics Human Augmentation. He has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and he is currently a professor at University of California Berkeley and the director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory. The goal of this laboratory is to develop fundamental scientific and engineering principles for robotic systems that collaborate with human and augment human capability. Such a collaboration between human and robots benefits from the intellectual advantage of humans and the strength advantage of robots. Dr. Kazerooni has published numerous articles on robotics, control sciences, mechatronics design, and human-machine systems. Dr. Kazerooni is a noted authority on Robotics and is frequently profiled and quoted in articles and news stories. Dr. Kazerooni is currently directing several research projects on human performance augmentation and much of the technology developed in hislab will serve as the cornerstone of Berkeley Bionics market offerings.