We RISE™ - Celebrating Disability Pride Month

Disability Pride Month occurs in the United States every July to commemorate the passing of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990. This civil rights law increased access and opportunities for people with disabilities in community life and employment and provided protections against discrimination.

The month aims to recognize the intrinsic worth and significant contributions of individuals with disabilities in our communities. According to America's Disability Community, the month is an opportunity to celebrate each person's uniqueness as "a natural and beautiful part of human diversity." 

The celebration has received support from all around the world. It is beautifully exemplified by the mindsets and achievements of RISE™Robotics' very own Ken Gray, Chief Product Officer, and special guest, Michele Sullivan, a well-known author, TED speaker, leader, and advisor on social impact. Both have flourished and achieved enormous success while confronting their own particular hurdles, and they now seek to support and encourage workplace diversity while emphasizing its numerous advantages.

Among her many accolades, Michele was named one of the 50 most powerful women in philanthropy by Inside Philanthropy and served as a United States delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Today, she serves on the board of directors of ONE and chairs the Greater Peoria Local Initiatives Support Corporation Advisory Board.

Ken Gray

She also boasts a successful thirty-year career at Caterpillar, where she held various leadership positions, including Director of Corporate Social Innovation and President of the Caterpillar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the manufacturing giant, where she helped to transform it into one of the world's most influential corporate foundations through the launch of the collaborative impact platform, Together. Stronger. 

Upon her retirement in 2018, Michele released Looking Up: How a Different Perspective Turns Obstacles into Advantages, her story of overcoming childhood challenges, grueling surgeries, and the stigma of disability living with a rare form of dwarfism. Looking Up is a tribute to overcoming adversity with grace and strength and reminds us of the change we can all make in the world.

Michele, who stands at 4' tall, interprets the title Looking Up in 2 different ways. "I look up to most people literally, but I also look up to people figuratively because I believe we all have value," she says. 

Both Ken and Michele believe firmly in recognizing and promoting the abilities, strengths, and immense value of diversity in the workplace. 

Traditionally, people define diversity in terms of gender or race, but it goes further. Diversity also lies within thoughts and experiences. Individuals with disabilities make inherent problem solvers and innovative thinkers and give us the ability to see the world through a unique and valuable lens thanks to their particular journeys and challenges.

Our unique perspectives formed by the way we perceive our environment

Valuing our Vastly Different Perspectives

Michele explains, "I surrounded myself with people who had a dimension that I did not have and that the team needed. Whether it was how they were raised, if they paid their way through college themselves, or did they have three jobs? How people grow up makes them different. Where in the world have they grown up? In what circumstances? What experiences have they had? 

"Someone who has worked their way up themselves, and I mean truly themselves, and someone who has had college paid for, never worked, and then went out for their first job, those two people are going to have vastly different perspectives.

"It tells you a lot about a person's gumption and initiative and what they would do when something doesn't go right. Do they panic? Or do they make the best of it? They have become successful in different ways, which has taught them other things.

Gumption and Initiative

"At the end of the day, if everyone has the same background as me and looks like me, I don't have the best team."

Both Ken and Michele are adamant about the value that diversity can add to an organization and the necessity of fostering, appreciating, and supporting it in the workplace.

"It's amazing to me," says Ken, "that we don't recognize that diversity isn't valuable for diversity's sake, but also from a business standpoint. It's simply more valuable when you have a diverse team. The reason is the additional perspectives that people with diverse backgrounds bring. They bring a problem-solving mentality that they had to develop to get to these levels. To enjoy this level of success, you have to figure out how to solve problems on your own that others might not even perceive you to be having. You must be an innovator and a problem solver to get by. There is this mentality that many successful people with impairments have that I want to take advantage of as a business person, as a leader."

He adds, "There is an absolute, no-give-up, relentless spirit. There's just absolutely no give-up in people like this. I think that's a tremendous benefit for companies. We need to make sure that disabilities don't disqualify people from things that they can certainly do." Ken knows a thing or two about the resilience and tenacity it takes to succeed despite living with a disability in the workplace. 

An Appearance of Diversity

"In my case," he shares, "I've been reluctant to tell my story because you can't tell by looking at me that I have a significant vision impairment or any other hidden issues. I've been very successful. Even people close to me would be surprised, I think, at how much discrimination there has been in my career, in my lifetime."

He shares, "I made sure that everybody knew during the interview process. It was very important to me that anyone who interviewed me for a role knew of my vision impairment because some accommodations were required. 

"I was sent home on the first day of work. The doctor that did my physical on day one said, 'Well, Ken, we knew during the interview process that your eyesight was bad' and he paused, 'But we didn't know it was this bad.' They literally sent me home. They didn't have a job for me. 

"We went from that arduous beginning to, over time, becoming director of the company. I have also run a couple of large, worldwide businesses for the last ten years of my career. "

"I do feel that part of the message that I want people to understand is that people with disabilities like mine or other disabilities that people can't see from the outside looking in can be successful. All that you need is an opportunity to be successful."

So what can companies do to diversify their workforce and open up opportunities for people with disabilities?

Ken says, "I just encourage people to hire people who are not like themselves. Make yourself look at what you can do to bring someone onto the team that has experience or a skill set that you simply do not have."

To do so, Michele suggests going out and learning about different associations and career programs. "Let college campuses and workshops know that you want diversity in possible candidates. If you have head hunters, tell them that you want a vast difference in thought, ability, and experience. 

"You have to go out and make an effort. They're not going to come knocking on your door, necessarily," she explains. 

Let prospective candidates know that your company is accommodating and welcoming.

Many employers today miss opportunities to put themselves out there, to be vulnerable, to say, "This is what we're looking for. We want to try this, and we're looking forward to what lies ahead."

Leaving the World a Better Place

"Vulnerability is high-risk, isn't it? " Showing you're vulnerable is a high-risk, high-reward proposition," notes Ken.

Ultimately, it all comes down to working together, supporting each other, uplifting, celebrating, and empowering.

"If you think about it, think about one of your big successes or one of your small successes," Michele says. "Did you do everything by yourself?

"I can't think of one that I did all by myself. 

"We always have people that help us. I think it's important that we reciprocate that every chance we get. That's one of the ways I say we have to leave the world a better place. You reach out to help people, offer to help, whatever that help is. 

"In my Ted Talk, Asking for Help is a Strength, Not a Weakness, I call that 'you can't walk in somebody else's shoes, but you can walk along with them to support them.' That's what people have done for us, and that's what we've done for other people for many reasons. 

“You can't walk in somebody else's shoes, but you can walk along with them to support them. That is called Humanity.”

"At the end of the day, that's called humanity.

"We have a lot of challenges in our society today where people think they know, and they don't. They are not open-minded. We really need to work on that and not be so judgmental because no matter where you go in the world, people want to thrive, and they want to support their families. They want to be successful. No matter what group I work with social impact-wise, they all want the same thing."

Michele Sullivan

"One of the biggest lessons of my career," adds Ken, "in all my travels around the world, one of the things I've learned is that people everywhere, no matter where they live, share far more similarities than differences. For some reason, we accentuate the differences."

"Someday, we'll get to a point where we're so inclusive that we won't have to have conversations like this. That's where Michele and I really want to get to. It is gradual, but it is changing. It is improving. We want to talk about this because we want to continue to encourage and support and reward that change toward more and more inclusiveness."

To hear more about Ken and Michele's inspiring journeys and efforts, listen to "We RISE™ with Michele Sullivan & Ken Gray" on the RISE™Inside podcast, live now!

We RISE™ - The Employment Journey of Rosa Henderson

Fig.1 – Rosa Henderson Wearing an eSight Eye-ware

I recently landed a full-time job living with permanent visual impairment. I couldn’t have done it alone without the support of some fantastic people.

My visual impairment was a huge dilemma. I was born visually impaired with Optic Nerve Atrophy, and at age 3, I got my first pair of glasses. I couldn’t see the classroom chalkboard in real-time. Handheld magnifying devices and CCTVs were the only tools to read textbooks, and I relied solely on my memory to get by. It was with a lot of struggle and lack of accommodations, but I did graduate high school. However, I lacked the confidence and motivation and did not see myself continuing to college. 

I had held a job or two during high school, but this was always the dilemma. So, therefore, I started my journey to try to obtain employment. This in itself had a new set of struggles to overcome. “Do I expose myself and tell them I have a visual impairment? Or do I hide it because I might not get the job?”. Upon entering the workforce after high school, I approached it with both strategies.

Fig.2 – Example of Optic Nerve Atrophy

In most cases, when I disclosed my visual impairment, I was limited and not allowed to try and perform the job tasks. Then it became apparent that not disclosing it was the better option. My vision is sufficient enough that it is not evident just from seeing me. So, I could self-accommodate and hide it pretty well, or so I thought. In some cases, it was discovered, but I had been there long enough that I had befriended some co-workers, and they were willing to assist me and make the accommodations I needed which in most cases were minimal. For example, I simply needed a larger monitor to use my computer efficiently. 

Fig.3 – Working the Problem of Visual Impairment without eSight Eye-ware

I was introduced to eSight, a wearable device that helps me to see in real-time. It made it so I could see things in real time easier. Not only that, but amazing people also surrounded me; co-mates, leaders, and coaches who believed in me and were open to possibilities. After training in the new technology, I was given the opportunity to work with the company. I was invited to attend events and welcomed by people who were unafraid to accommodate me when I needed it. I also gained confidence and helped create simple solutions so I could be an equal contributor just like any other employee. If I didn’t know how to do something, someone would show me, share their screen or adjust the contrast so I could see how it’s done. I started to build up my confidence and critical thinking skills. I started as a coach with eSight, and through my four years there, I also worked with sales and assisted with PR events. I attended conferences such as CES, and I have spoken at various public engagements and worked with various accessibility teams, co-presented with the CEO on a podcast, and even became the host of a weekly coffee chat!

“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” 

Fig.4 – Rosa Henderson with KLAS 8 Las Vegas on using eSight to navigate COVID-19 challenges

Looking back, it was human kindness that taught me how to fish. Using my eSight, I completed an associate degree in Business Administration. I developed new skills and no longer wait to be asked what I needed. Because of the confidence others have given me, I now know I have something to offer, and I have value to give to an employer and can contribute to their business being successful.  

If there was something I can take away from all this to build a truly inclusive environment and promote open-mindedness:

• Don’t assume what people can’t do. Let them show you what they can do.  

• A warm invitation can go a long way and encourage their participation.

• Accommodating visual impairment ( or any disability ) isn’t always complicated. Sometimes the solution could be as simple as increasing the contrast or text size.

• Let people show their abilities, and you’ll be surprised to see how they adapt.

• You might be passing up on some fantastic talent because “you” feel that person may not be able to perform as is needed. 

I have now been employed by another excellent company that was opened minded enough to hire me. They have technology that is sure to change the world, and I can be proud to say I am a contributor to that change.

Powering the Next Generation of Heavy Machinery: Scaling RISE™Technology

With the successful market debut of RISE™Robotics' first commercially-launched product, the fluid-free RISE™Cylinder packaged within the re-engineered Anthony Liftgate, Re-Gen Railtrac™, one question is on everyone's mind: what's next for RISE™?

A rare innovation in a stagnant industry, the Re-Gen Railtrac™ with RISE™Inside, is the culmination of a partnership founded upon an endeavor to answer some of material handling’s most pervasive concerns. The modernized liftgate features a fluid-free, electromechanical alternative to hydraulic cylinders for heavy equipment and machinery that addresses the battery-electrification downfalls inherent in hydraulic systems while delivering hydraulic-like forces at unprecedented efficiency, precision, speed, and weight.

The machine is a stark improvement over its traditional counterparts in terms of efficiency, being the first in its class capable of producing its own energy during operation. The RISE™Cylinder uses up to 90% less energy than traditional hydraulic cylinders thanks to lower power consumption levels and regenerative charging. This extraordinary level of efficiency makes the electrification of heavy machinery practical and conceivable.

Now RISE™Robotics is setting its sights on expanding the reach of its technology with the goal of redefining the power, reliability, and sustainability of actuators in the heavy lifting space.

Building on the innovation achieved in bringing the re-engineered liftgate to life, RISE™Robotics' current project entails scaling their actuator to fit a wider selection of robust heavy machinery, addressing the modern needs of high-capacity lifts and cranes. 

Dwarfing the liftgate cylinder's modest 4500lb load, currently in development in the RISE™ lab is a 50,000lb cylinder.  RISE™Robotics’ desire is not only to build a bigger cylinder, though, but to build a bigger cylinder that is actually useful. 

To do so, RISE™ is working closely with partners from within the industry, including manufacturers of high-capacity forklifts and lithium-ion battery packs, to ensure more than just buildability but also capability and compatibility. 

Through multifaceted testing and demonstrations, this 10x magnified cylinder is not only proving viable but also superior to current hydraulic solutions, highlighting the teams' core vision of a cleaner, quieter, more efficient world powered by RISE™.

Although one might expect scaling to this degree to come with expenses to match, cost efficiency has similarly improved, with the final price of ownership remaining far lower than hydraulic systems, even when accounting for the cost of adapting infrastructure. 

On the introductory side, RISE™Robotics' cylinder requires significantly fewer materials than comparable hydraulics, a natural consequence of clever engineering, while utilizing components able to be fabricated through conventional means, rather than those requiring specialized machines. 

The RISE™Cylinder also features a number of long-term investment advantages, including integrated automated monitoring capabilities that allow for regular and preventative maintenance, which is near impossible with current hydraulics. 

Most hydraulic systems today are still nowhere near what one would consider a "smart device." RISE™Robotics' unique methods and materials allow the monitoring of cylinders over the lifecycle of the machine in an automated fashion requiring no human intervention, flipping the standard of expensive, invasive troubleshooting on its head and redirecting the trend towards telematic, self-monitoring systems.

The numerous achievements of Re-Gen Railtrac™, with RISE™Inside, in collaboration with Anthony Liftgates, establish only the starting line for the future of electrification for material handling equipment. The RISE™Cylinder is proving to be not only a successful hydraulic alternative capable of revolutionizing actuation but also a scalable one.

Today RISE™ looks to cultivate relationships that allow them to advance and adapt their technology to serve the widest selection of applications possible. Each day, they connect with pioneers and experts across industries, daring enough to partner in re-imagining the machines that move our world, jointly conceptualizing, building, testing, and verifying the next generation of heavy machinery with RISE™Inside. 

Bringing Cutting-edge Innovations to the Government Market

As new applications of RISE™Technology continue to emerge and take shape, RISE™Robotics’ potential to influence significant change in efficiency and sustainability becomes increasingly evident. Meanwhile, the state of our world today continuously demonstrates the desperate need for large-scale initiatives improving energy efficiency and decreasing environmental impact. With these goals lying at the core of RISE™Robotics’ mission, one of our primary initiatives today is putting our technology into the hands of government agencies capable of executing and delivering benefits around the globe. Decisive Point, a venture capital and advisory firm, is backing and supporting RISE™ in our endeavors to enter the federal market. 

Mission and Efforts

Focusing on technology with innovative applications for both commercial and government markets, Decisive Point invests in deep-tech to future-proof America and bring cutting-edge innovations in the areas of national security, energy independence, resilient supply chains, and good governance to tackle the nation’s toughest problems. Decisive Point is uniquely positioned to unlock meaningful value for early-stage ventures through its venture capital fund, base of business and government advisors, and its federally-supported accelerator.   

As a venture capital fund, Decisive Point invests in industries at the intersection of technology and government including aerospace and defense, power generation and energy storage, health and human services, and critical infrastructure. The Decisive Point team leverages experience in government contracting and commercial business development to give startup teams an edge when doing business with the government. Decisive Point's accelerator program in partnership with the Department of Defense helps support the advancement of companies of interest and support their integration with lucrative government programs.

Dual-Use Technology

Unlike many investment firms and accelerators working with tech startups today, Decisive Point focuses on dual-use technologies and the companies producing them. A relatively recent term, dual-use refers to technology with a strong commercial market that may also find practical applications in the government and military spheres. Examples include artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, and battery and energy technologies.

When Decisive Point takes on a dual-use company, the ultimate objective is to align the technology for integration into a government program. This process is complex, requiring expertise to guide startups through research and development, testing and evaluation, and finally multi-year contracts establishing long-term procurement and recurring revenue. 

Commercial vs. Government Sales

Although sales within governmental spaces bear many similarities to commercial sales, such as the importance of regular communication, some distinctions can profoundly impact a company's chances of success when attempting to secure contracts.

One of these is culture and conduct. Just as the transition from academia to business can jar founders, learning to navigate the governmental framework is a common sticking point for companies new to the space. When conducting business with any federal agency, there exists a particular style of etiquette and language unlike that of the commercial world that founders must employ to communicate their product's value and conduct business effectively. Government buyers, for example, are more mission-oriented than their counterparts, evaluating technology through the lens of long-term goals and projected results.

This ties into the second significant distinction between government and commercial sales, which is the divergence of buyers and users. When dealing with agencies such as the Department of Defense, a product's buyer and its users will not be the same and are often far removed from one another within the organization. Understanding the roles and positions of both buyer and user is key to securing business as well as bridging the communication gap between the two. Buyers in this context are those who not only dictate funding but possess the capabilities to move forward with prototyping, testing, evaluation, and procurement. Meanwhile, users or end-users are the individuals deploying the technology in operational settings. In the case of RISE™Robotics, an example of the end-user would be service members operating forklifts and loaders on an airfield. 

Finally, unlike commercial funding that is immediately awarded, government funding and its availability are bound by the federal budget cycle, meaning that buyers' investments in some cases must be withheld until funds are next dispersed. Because of this, the most successful companies dealing in the federal marketplace are the ones that can also rely on revenue from their commercial line of business while navigating what can sometimes be a lengthy federal contracting process.  

Indeed, commercial and government sales go hand-in-hand. One of Decisive Point's most essential goals in advising is to create a balance of governmental and commercial activities that hastens development and encourages success in both markets. The best outcome is to avoid contracts that may derail a startup from its commercial vision and instead secure federal research and development funding that directly aligns with the company’s commercial product development roadmap. Ultimately, each side must support the other for a dual-use startup to truly take off.

RISE™Robotics and Decisive Point

With a growing list of commercial engagements and game-changing potential for government operations, RISE™Robotics is an ideal example of a dual-use company deserving Decisive Point’s focus. Decisive Point constantly works to identify opportunities for RISE™Technology to transform government operations, promote RISE™Technology to government buyers, and mediate communications with stakeholders. With both based in Boston, the Decisive Point and RISE™Robotics teams meet regularly and often host government stakeholders and technology scouts at RISE’s Somerville location.

With federal interest growing rapidly in sustainable technologies such as electric vehicles and machinery, Decisive Point projects great success for RISE™Robotics in government applications. As our RISE™Robotics team works on the ground with end-users to assess challenges, Decisive Point supports us in bringing solutions to reality, committing to making RISE™Technology the next great catalyst of advancement in federal energy initiatives.

The Investors of RISE™: Belief and Patience Supporting Innovation

Most overnight successes were ten years in the making— it’s an idea commonly repeated in the business world that rings true more often than not, and it is especially accurate to RISE™. Our technology is the product of more than a decade’s worth of hard work and perseverance, representing the culmination of numerous incremental breakthroughs that opened the path to what investors describe today as a rare and meaningful discovery in a field long stagnated. Our journey began far and away from our current destination and has been filled to the brim with twists and turns that would have stopped many in their tracks. In this time and still now, what has been a critical ingredient to our success is the backing provided by our investors, who have dedicated years to providing support and encouragement to our team even at points where others would have turned their backs.

Early Prototypes of RISE™Technology

First High Capacity RISE™Technology Push-Pull Prototype

The patience given and confidence shown by investors like The Engine, Walt Winshall, John Strauss, and Bill Warner have time and again set our team on the path of discovery and success, providing the resources and direction that has allowed us to realize our vision. Today, these investors continue to catalyze our growth and ongoing advancement.

Mechanical Body Float Device

The Beginnings of Ongoing Support

A sentiment often echoed among our supporters is that an investment in RISE™ is an investment in a team and their capabilities rather than a product. Bill Warner, an Emmy Award-winning entrepreneur, inventor, and angel investor, was the first to take this leap, coming to us when exosuits were still the final goal. Acquainted with co-founder Arron Acosta prior to the company’s conception through his involvement in MIT’s Gordon Engineering Leadership Program, Bill declares that it took only a single meeting to convince him to invest, attracted by not only the ambitious goal being pursued but the unique approach to engineering which had already produced breakthroughs meaningful in their own right, such as mechanical flotation. Conceived by Blake Sessions, co-founder and now Chief Technical Officer at RISE™, this concept included a wearable device that would lift a human into the air, allowing them to float like they would in water. It was the first of a long line of groundbreaking discoveries made and eventually left behind that would guarantee Bill the value of his investment. Even as he watched numerous of these discoveries fall by the wayside with no end market strategy in view, Bill drew upon them as a source of energy that fueled his continued support.

RISE™Exosuit Concept

Bill Warner

For Bill, a highly successful entrepreneur, energy is the great motivator that pushes innovation and success and the guiding light one should follow when working towards a goal, particularly in the startup arena. His coaching entails teaching entrepreneurs to tap into their natural capabilities and personal passions to spur the construction of a business with an energized team and satisfied customers, emphasizing his belief that the best move in the industry will always be the one that most excites. This view has made him an ideal advisor to RISE™ through our technology’s extended development period and our growth as a company. Today he cites RISE™Technology as an example of the success resulting from persistently choosing to do what generates the most energy, even when that may entail diverting from conventional beliefs and advice.

Walter Winshall

John Strauss

Early Involvement for Optimal Growth
Coming to us only a very short time after Bill, Walt Winshall, and associate John Strauss similarly believe in the idea of investing in people rather than products. Principal of the Collaborative Seed and Growth Partners, Walt is an expert in the world of tech startups on a mission to support early entrepreneurs in translating research into commercialized technologies. Walt met the RISE™ team during their stint in the startup accelerator program TechStars, in which he is involved as an investor. Still working towards an exosuit at the time, the team had released a video demonstration of a spring that increased the maximum height of the user’s jump dramatically when attached to the heel. This video piqued Walt’s interest, who shared it with John shortly after. Each agreed that the spring communicated a level of technological capability worth investigating, recognizing the wealth of applications it might fit. This key component also presented incredible value as the signature of a team with the potential to produce groundbreaking innovation, even in mechanical engineering, where it is extremely rare to do so.

Mechanical Jump Amplifier

John is an angel investor who works behind the scenes with early-stage companies tackling critical issues, and his coaching is highly concerned with culture, dynamics, and cohesiveness. Where Walt was impressed by the technical capabilities of the team and the ongoing discoveries they produced, John was most excited by the united front they had created to push RISE™ forward. Their decision to invest early and reason for sticking with us over our decade-long journey was inspired by their policy of engaging with companies as early as possible. Following their belief in investing in people, the goal of this policy is to ensure that the resources they provide help bring an innovative product to the market and contribute to the raising of a company that will continue to produce innovation even beyond its debut technology. A crucial ingredient to such a company, John emphasizes, is building a culture conducive to effective teamwork and highly supportive to employees. Doing so is a process that spans a company’s entire lifespan, even at its earliest stages when culture seems like an issue for the future, and it is for this reason that early involvement is a must for the pair to invest. Their role at RISE™ has been to act as a sounding board, offering their experience and knowledge in business development to advise against missteps, as well as mediators who ensure that respect and cohesion remain at the core of our work. At the same time, we pursue the seemingly impossible goal of pioneering a brand new, disruptive technology.

Experience, Knowledge, Respect and Cohesion

The Engine and Their Mission

A venture capital fund whose investments are focused on companies working in what they term “tough tech,” the Engine was created in 2017 by MIT to nurture innovators working to solve some of the most pressing issues in our world today. Primarily backing companies working in human health, advanced systems, and climate change, the Engine is an investment firm highly aware of the challenges that come with the endeavor to create technology with the potential to change the world, including the vast amount of time and resources it requires as compared to other fields. To this end, they provide funding between seed and series-A and a network of contacts filled with potential partners and mentors and infrastructure and practical resources. Their involvement with RISE™ has provided resources and connections crucial to our progress both in reaching our market debut today and growing further into the future.

Front Desk of The Engine, built by M.I.T.

With our mission being to replace one of today’s biggest producers of carbon emissions, the Engine considers RISE™ to be a prime example of their ideal portfolio companies, beginning with two MIT students who went on to not only develop novel, transformative technology but effectively build a company around it as well. Contrasting our other investors, whose involvement is more based on a request, the Engine is highly engaged with the RISE™ team, having a member on the board and a dedicated advisor whose roles include coaching growth, consulting on matters of market strategy, and much more. Meanwhile, their network has allowed us to connect with experts and even brought us our Vice President of Business Development, Ken Gray.

Ken Gray

Illustration of an Antiquated Hydraulic System

With the winding road taken to reach the product we have today, RISE™ could be said to have some of the most steadfast investors in the startup world, enduring years of trial, error, and uncertainty with patience and trust rarely seen. The support and faith placed in us by this stalwart group have been critical to our success, and we are proud to finally share the fruits of that labor in the form of our first commercial product, the ReGEN™ Tailtrac with RISE™Inside.

Announcing Our First Commercial Product Launch by Demonstrating Control.

A Legacy of Innovation: The Origins of Anthony Liftgates and Their Revolutionary Partnership with RISE™

As one of hydraulics' earliest adopters, Anthony Liftgates has been a trailblazer in the world of transportation technology since the company's conception, creating and developing innovations with powerful repercussions in material handling, industrial machinery, and more. Today, the traditional liftgate, which has seen relatively few improvements in its lifetime, faces a new set of problems that must be addressed if they are to remain the most effective option for loading and deliveries. Looking to make waves once again in the market, Anthony is now partnering with RISE™ to introduce the next generation of liftgates set to be more efficient, reliable, and sustainable than any of their predecessors.

Roots in Innovation

The story of Anthony Liftgates can be traced as far back as the early twentieth century, claiming its beginnings in 1917, when William Anthony and his brothers joined with various business partners to develop innovations for the then-infantile transportation industry. Later, these innovations were incorporated into Ford Model T’s. However, it was not until 1939 that Anthony's right-hand, Lawrence Walker, would be approached by the manager of a local Ford dealership with the original liftgate concept, while the first Anthony liftgate would not be introduced until 1941.

With the Walker family acquiring the company in the 1980s, they have continuously expanded since, improving upon the liftgate design and steadily establishing themselves as a producer of high quality, durable, reliable machinery packaged with the latest innovations the industry offers.

Today, Anthony continues the legacy of its founders, carrying their drive for innovation forward as they endeavor to revolutionize liftgate technology once again. Paying homage to the American entrepreneurial spirit from which their original design sprung, Anthony proudly offers products exclusively manufactured in the United States, speaking to what they cite as a significant contributor to their success: recognizing the value of "at-home innovation."

At Anthony, they believe those who have the most to offer the field of transportation technology are those whose passion for the nuts and bolts of engineering extends past the confines of their professional projects. Instead, they seek out the hobbyists of the world— the weekend welders, resident handypersons, and hot rod restorationists— and encourage them to find the places where side projects can become impactful solutions. To support this, they maintain a company culture and structure in which team members can easily and comfortably approach leads to pitch ideas or discuss topics while consistently being made aware of their work's impact on the company and their customers.

Liftgates, Drawbacks, and Consequences
Although the automotive industry has made significant strides in quality, technology, and standards over recent years, the liftgate itself has largely failed to keep pace. At this moment, the material handling industry is under immense pressure. With consumers increasingly turning to e-commerce, delivery services are in higher demand than ever, and at an inopportune time at that. Today, global supply chains are still struggling to recover from the massive disruptions caused by COVID-19 in 2020, and the virus's evolving nature means that further complications are no remote possibility.

Liftgates are indispensable pieces of equipment for loading and deliveries; some products may even be undeliverable without them. With e-commerce still booming, delivery routes are continuously increasing in length and number of stops, and current liftgate models fail to perform as needed. Instead, because the hydraulics consume a significant amount of power, they are often unable to maintain a sufficient charge to complete a delivery route. In some cases, they may drain a truck's battery entirely, making it unable to start ceasing service altogether. Although auxiliary batteries used exclusively to power the liftgate have been presented as potential solutions, the need to charge and maintain those batteries cause further complications.

Additionally, with concerns over environmental sustainability now coming to a head and drawing the attention of lawmakers, the automotive and other related industries are now pushing hard to improve energy efficiency and minimize carbon footprints. Electric trucks are now being looked at as a possible alternative to their diesel counterparts. However, this spells further trouble for liftgates; where a conventional truck may be able to maintain a charge for an entire route even with difficulties. Liftgates can be a heavy draw and reduce the range of an electric truck. There are also voltage mismatches that will need to be addressed in the long run. 

Considering this, the consequences of the traditional liftgate's issues are twofold. From a business perspective, liftgates that perform inadequately and damage truck performance can cause delivery services to lose customers and revenue by creating delays and cancellations. Meanwhile, they and the trucks powering them will require more attention, substantially increasing maintenance and repair costs while causing further loss of profits when those trucks are out of commission. From an environmental perspective, inefficient liftgates (and hydraulics more generally) are a significant roadblock on the path to sustainable material handling, something incredibly noteworthy considering that the industry is one of the world's most prolific producers of greenhouse gas. Thus, solving the liftgate problem is not simply a matter of better business, but one of protecting our planet as well.

Anthony and the RISE™ Solution
In pursuit of a solution to these issues, Anthony spent years attempting to improve the efficiency of their hydraulics, exploring a wide variety of motion technologies and finding little success. Upon meeting with the RISE™ team, Anthony approached with a single goal, modernizing liftgates and a willingness to take risks to achieve it. This gave RISE™ the opportunity to demonstrate the abilities of RISE™Technology by providing one of their products for developing and testing in the liftgate application. They found a system capable of performing even beyond their expectations, not only lacking the power consumption of hydraulics but also producing its charge during operation. These breakthroughs in the technology were in addition to the solution being more straightforward, more reliable, and more easily installed, monitored, and serviced than its competition.

This initial demonstration gave Anthony the confirmation they needed to move forward with the collaboration, proving RISE™Technology as a valid, viable alternative to hydraulics, holding the potential to revolutionize the liftgate market. Now, this partnership has produced a machine unlike any in its class— the world's first self-sustaining liftgate, a solution to both the financial and environmental drawbacks of hydraulic systems. With this new product, Anthony now looks forward to encouraging adoption, rising above their competitors to continue their legacy of innovation, and making real, positive change while doing so.

Unique Ingredients for Unprecedented Results: The Founders of RISE™

A decade following the company's conception by two ambitious, freshly graduated MIT engineers, RISE™ and the cutting-edge technology of their design are making their major market debut. At last, they are partnering with Anthony Liftgates to present a liftgate more efficient, reliable, and sustainable than any before. Powered by RISE™Technology, the product provides the first large-scale demonstration of the new actuator's ability to offer a superior alternative to hydraulics and outperform them in critical ways; indeed, it is the world's first fully self-sustaining liftgate.

Early Liftgate Prototype with RISE™Technology Inside

Early Actuator Product for Exoskeletons

Offering an answer to the issue of high power consumption of liftgates, which are overburdening and often draining delivery truck batteries, RISE™ is the first to provide a solution to one of the material handling industry's most widespread and longstanding issues. Simultaneously, they are advancing the sphere of hydraulic technology unlike any seen in decades. It may be surprising, then, to learn that its founders began as outsiders to the industry, pursuing an endeavor slightly removed from where their work has brought them today. Rather than starting with the goal of offering an alternative to hydraulics, the company began with a product in mind, of which actuation is the single most valuable component: an advanced exoskeleton that would enhance the range of human motion. It was this pursuit that allowed the team to produce the innovations that are now transforming the industry.

From left to right, Kyle Dell’Aquila, Toomas Sepp, Blake Sessions and Arron Acosta

Each of RISE™'s four founders— Arron Acosta, Blake Sessions, Toomas Sepp, and Kyle Dell'Aquila— brought a unique perspective and a broad and diverse range of experience to the project skills and expertise. This combination allowed for new interpretations of actuation and heavy machinery and their mechanics and designs and gave the team all the capabilities needed to execute them. Arron and Blake provided the project's foundation with their ambition, passion, and talent, moving them to create the company and perform the tireless work of its first exploratory year. The later recruitment of each additional founder marked vital turning points in the progression of RISE™ as we know it today. Toomas, who joined in year two, offered capabilities in conceptualization, design, and construction that allowed the team the freedom of prototyping and testing, which spurred the discovery of their novel power transmission methods. Later, Kyle's joining the team signaled their move towards making their new actuator a complete industrial product. The Rhode Island School of Design graduate helped them to visualize its applications and build awareness by communicating the story of RISE™ and its unique concept. These turning points exemplify how each founder provided a necessary ingredient to the company's success and their product, continuously building upon each other to make real innovation a possibility.

The story of the belt dilemma, the point at which RISE™Technology went from a promising concept to an executable reality, aptly illustrates both how the team's unconventional origins helped them reach success and how each member fueled the endeavor in crucial ways by sharing knowledge and ideas, making observations, and offering their abilities. The tale begins with material testing on one of RISE™'s early designs, with the team trying the absolute limits of a high-performance material they had identified as a candidate for their design. Noticing some asymmetrical wear on the belt during testing, the team gathered to dissect the phenomenon, determine its cause, and devise its solution, Toomas setting to work checking the validity of their assumptions. In a somewhat whimsical twist, what finally triggered the breakthrough critical to their success was a casual, joking brainstorming session between Arron and Kyle, producing a seemingly absurd suggestion that eventually resulted in the groundbreaking advancement that would not only propel RISE™Technology forward but challenge some foundations of engineering. Blake then tapped into his biomechanical roots to take observation down to its most basic level.

The machine in which asymmetrical wear lead to new belt insights

Common wisdom surrounding belts states that there are two "sins" possible in their use, ways in which they are sure to degrade: twisting a belt or fleeting it. Although well aware of this convention, the founders were not bound by the framework of thought traditional engineers would have been— what many viewed as a sure stopping block they saw as a point of interest and possible opportunity. Here, RISE™ did what no engineer had thought to do. Rather than scrap their concept entirely at the first instance of a twisted belt degrading, they pushed ahead to examine the results of their tests without assumptions, thoroughly, and at their most fundamental levels. Ultimately, the design that brought them success would be one flouting the rules of belts completely, both twisting and fleeting the belt to improve its durability tenfold. 

The Two Sins: Fleet (left) & Twist (right)

With the world of industrial technology, RISE™ is a company with an unconventional product and an even-more-so background. With no two members following the same trajectory to reach their place on the team, the team contained all the necessary components to achieve an unprecedented solution that is unlikely to have developed within the traditional environment. Today, the founders' contributions have found their place in a revolutionary technology that stands not only to offer an alternative to hydraulics but to make impressive, lasting changes in our environment and quality of life.

The Story of RISE™: Part Two, Reimagining the Future of Industrial Machinery

Early Aramid “Cyclone” Actuator Concept utilized within a rapid 1-day fabricated exoskeleton arm prototype

Ten years have passed since the company’s conception in 2011. Present-day RISE™ is a flourishing, quickly expanding industrial technology company. Upholding our mission to provide an alternative to traditional hydraulics, we now partner with manufacturers to completely reconceptualize machinery instrumental in logistics, infrastructure, development, and more. This finally provides an answer to the age-old issues famously associated with hydraulic systems with a novel device outperforming its competition in force, efficiency, speed, and durability. Yet, the RISE™ mission does not only encapsulate better performance; we seek to transform how industrial machinery operates and interacts on every level to create elegant, sophisticated equipment more amiable to humans and the environment alike.

The beginning process of identifying the appropriate RISE™Cylinder configuration for a 10K AT Forklift

While the company has twice doubled its size over two years, RISE™Technology has also grown to achieve its goal, now a far cry from the early “cyclone” actuator that brought Kyle to the team in 2014. The belt debacle’s resolution marked the beginning of a period of rapid advancement, bringing to fruition a fluid-free, electric, passively cooled alternative to hydraulic cylinders. Moreover, an alternative for pushing and pulling capable of converting massive amounts of rotational power to linear and translational with reduced energy consumption and zero emissions. Today, our advanced power transmission system stands to replace hydraulics in even the largest of industrial machines, offering an electro-mechanical solution for increased precision and previously unheard of efficiency.

Evolution of RISE™Technology

RISE™Technology inside of an Anthony Liftgate

Kicking off our entrance to the actuator market, RISE™ is now partnered with Anthony Liftgates to display one of our technology’s many optimal applications in a newly designed liftgate which solves the field’s most pressing issue—that of batteries and their rapid depletion by hydraulics. One of hydraulics’ earliest adopters, the first to apply them to dumping, loading, and lifting, Anthony is a more than well-established liftgate manufacturer whose keen awareness of the battery problem led them to approach RISE™ in our technology’s adolescence seeking a solution, providing us the opportunity to test the system in their liftgates. Compared side-by-side, RISE™Technology was shown to perform more than triple the number of lifts per battery charge than those achieved by traditional hydraulics, giving Anthony the confirmation they needed to collaborate with us.

Side by side comparison of a liftgate hydraulic pump-box and a RISE™Technology electric “pump-box“

Both liftgate manufacturers and operators have faced the battery problem for some time, and it has only grown with the continuous push for zero-emissions machinery. The electric dump trucks and other such vehicles being introduced today suffer even worse complications than their diesel counterparts.

Energy Consumption comparison between a hydraulic cylinder and RISE™Cylinder raising and lowering a 36,000lb load at the same move speed.

The problem is this: hydraulically powered liftgates consume more power than is sustainable for the currently used batteries. At its most basic, a liftgate is a device that lowers objects to the ground to be unloaded from a truck in the absence of a loading dock. With each lifting and lowering consuming energy, lowering more so than lifting, a single battery’s charge can be insufficient for completing an entire delivery route, causing drivers to find their liftgates inoperable or trucks unable to start as the battery depletes. Although energy (actually the charge on a battery) may be conserved by leaving the truck idling while making deliveries, cities across the country are now looking to combat air pollution by enforcing laws that require vehicles to be turned off anytime they are unoccupied, leaving drivers little recourse to conserve the energy necessary for their route. When a truck dies, it often requires a third party to come to charge its battery, creating even further delays and causing incomplete deliveries, each of which represents a customer potentially lost to issues of basic mechanics.

The battery problem is the most pressing issue facing the liftgate world today; it also illustrates an ideal application of our actuator. Liftgates powered by RISE™ not only consume just around 75% of the power of one with hydraulics, but they also power themselves—our transmission system generates energy with each lowering of the gate, charging the truck battery as deliveries are made rather than continuously depleting it. With this, the original innovators of the power liftgate, Anthony Liftgates, are now the first adopters of its next-generation: the world’s first self-sustaining liftgate, powered by RISE™Technology. 

RISE™Cylinder provides several other advantages for Anthony’s reinvented liftgate. Maintenance is another common issue in the field, particularly determining when fluids and components, such as seals and hoses, are due to be replaced. Unlike hydraulic systems, whose conditions are nearly impossible to monitor (let alone consistently), our powertrain systems utilize materials along with a cloud IoT, or Internet of Things, system allowing them to automatically and continuously assess their condition. Rather than blindly servicing systems when it may not be needed or simply waiting for them to fail, maintenance can be performed exactly when and where required. Further, replacing RISE™Cylinder is far easier than replacing a hydraulic cylinder. RISE™Cylinder lacks the fluid of a traditional hydraulic cylinder, which makes traditional replacement an involved, time-consuming process. In fact, RISE™Cylinder can literally be replaced in a few short minutes. The lack of fluid also imparts other significant advantages, because RISE™Technology does not require the reservoirs, pumps, or other peripherals necessary for fluid power transmission. It requires less space than hydraulic systems, and liftgates powered by RISE™Technology are more straightforward to install than their hydraulic competition.

Showcased at the Battery Show this past September, the reimagined liftgate created through our partnership with Anthony is RISE™’s first commercially available product, constituting our first foray into manufacturing. Already, work has begun on stabilizing and scaling production, and the liftgate’s earliest units have been handed to Anthony’s most innovative customers for the initial launch.

The vast improvement of the Anthony liftgate with RISE™ Inside demonstrates that our goals are achievable. RISE™Technology is not only a viable alternative to hydraulics but a significant upgrade capable of revolutionizing actuation as we know it. As we continue to pursue our ultimate vision of a future with silent construction equipment and zero-emissions material handling, RISE™ invites manufacturers to join us in overhauling the industrial machinery of today, making it more efficient, intuitive, and environmentally ethical than ever before.