RISE™Robotics Awarded $1.25 Million Contract to Design Ultra-Light Loading Machine for the United States Air Force

SOMERVILLE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RISE™Robotics, the Zero Emission heavy machinery company, announced today that it has been awarded a $1.25 Million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Award by United States Air Force AFVentures.

Adversarial advances in combat capabilities have prompted the US Air Force to pursue a strategy focused on launching, recovering, and maintaining aircraft from dispersed forward operating locations. Rather than relying on large overseas bases to project international power, agile combat employment (ACE) leverages networks of austere air bases, multi-capable airmen, pre-positioned equipment and airlifts to rapidly deploy, disperse and maneuver combat capability throughout a theater. To be successful, the US Air Force must deploy reliable, low maintenance, and functional support equipment to operate effectively.

With this SBIR Phase II Award, RISE™Robotics will design an Ultra-Light 10K Loader enabled by RISE™Technology. The loader concept design will be capable of swift and safe manipulation of standard 463L cargo pallets in austere landing fields and will be a fraction of the weight of the legacy diesel-over-hydraulic 10K AT Forklift.

RISE™Robotics CEO, Arron Acosta commented, “Unloading and loading heavy cargo pallets from austere landing fields will be done with RISE™’s lighter weight equipment that reduces transportation fuel usage. Today, commercial articulated wheel loaders with large off-road tires do the job well, but reducing fuel consumption is a new challenge best solved by RISE™."

RISE™Robotics zero emission machines incorporate the patented RISE™Cylinder (US Patent 11255416, Patent Pending: WO2019/014259), a fluid-free, electromechanical alternative to hydraulic cylinders for heavy equipment and machinery that addresses the battery-electrification problems inherent in hydraulic systems by delivering hydraulic-like forces at unprecedented efficiency, precision, speed, and weight. RISE™Cylinder uses up to 90% less energy than hydraulic cylinders.

About RISE™Robotics

Founded in 2011 by graduates of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), RISE™Robotics is a high-growth technology company backed by The Engine, a Tough Tech venture capital fund built by MIT, Greentown Labs, and Techstars.

RISE™Robotics is leading the way to Zero Emission heavy machinery by providing the world’s most efficient and productive alternative to hydraulics. Designed for medium and heavy-duty applications, RISE™Technology provides fuel, emissions, and sound reductions, improves productivity, and extends machine life. Find RISE™Robotics online: https://www.riserobotics.com/.