Before we ever created the Apex, we spent a couple of years researching how and where to apply exosuit forces comfortably to the body. We published the first-ever scientific peer-reviewed study characterizing the comfort limits of exosuit forces applied to different parts of the body (Yandell 2020B). And we were the first to comprehensively characterize human-exosuit interface dynamics during the transmission of mechanical power from an exosuit to a user (Yandell 2019). Based on these pioneering scientific studies, we then created prototypes of the Apex and completed further user comfort testing. In a peer-reviewed field study on logistics and retail workers, >90% of the workers reported that the Apex prototype was comfortable to wear (Yandell 2020). These findings were used to finalize the Apex product and ensure it could comfortably assist men and women of different sizes and shapes. In a recent Vanderbilt-led study, 82% of Soldiers reported that they were satisfied with the comfort of an exosuit prototype (developed for the U.S. Army) and the remaining 18% were neutral in their opinion of comfort (Slaughter & Rodzak, In Review). HeroWear has observed similar outcomes across dozens of field studies: when properly fit, the vast majority of users find the Apex to be comfortable to wear for their daily work.
