Lockheed Martin and Know Hub Chile invite universities linked to the New Engineering 2030 program to take part in the FORTIS Challenge

The initiative seeks to build ties between the national R&D&I ecosystem and an international benchmark of the aerospace industry such as Lockheed Martin. It also aims to improve the capabilities and expand the functionalities of the FORTIS exoskeleton and create new technology transfer opportunities for national universities. Applications will be open until September 16, 2022.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, United States, Lockheed Martin is a global aerospace and security company that employs approximately 114,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

One of those advanced technologies developed by Lockheed Martin is FORTIS, a lightweight, unpowered exoskeleton designed to assist people working in heavy industry. The device transfers loads through the exoskeleton to the ground in a standing or kneeling position and allows operators to use heavy tools (up to 16.3 kg) as if they were weightless, reducing fatigue and improving worker safety. It also features an advanced ergonomic design that moves naturally with the body and adapts to different body types and heights.

Lockheed Martin, together with Know Hub Chile, is launching the FORTIS Challenge, an initiative aimed at the New Engineering for 2030 programs run by Chilean universities, to seek solutions and new innovations in the use of Lockheed Martin’s advanced exoskeleton, FORTIS.

The objectives are to build ties between the national R&D&I ecosystem and an international benchmark of the aerospace industry such as Lockheed Martin, while improving the capabilities and expanding the functionalities of the FORTIS exoskeleton and creating new technology transfer opportunities for national universities.

Know Hub Chile and Lockheed Martin alliance

Know Hub Chile is a nonprofit organization born from a public policy that seeks to transform Chile into a knowledge-based economy and society. Its main objective is to turn research results into goods and services available to the market and for the benefit of society. To achieve this, it implements various programs and initiatives and has developed the capabilities needed to assess and transfer knowledge and technologies to society and to help develop science-based startups. In particular, the FORTIS Challenge is an initiative of the Know Hub Dual-Tech program, whose objective is to bring the defense sector into the national innovation ecosystem.

Javier Ramírez, executive director of Know Hub Chile, says that “Lockheed Martin understands that it has to be seen as a relevant player in the ecosystem, a technology co-developer with local capabilities and early results to validate itself, and that is where the FORTIS Challenge comes from”.

The main objective of the FORTIS Challenge is to begin establishing Lockheed Martin as a relevant partner in the Chilean research, development and innovation ecosystem, by building cooperative relationships between the company and relevant players and stakeholders such as universities, R&D centers and government agencies, among others. To begin this connection, the initiative aims to enable engineering schools and Lockheed Martin to cooperate in improving Lockheed Martin’s FORTIS exoskeleton.

Teams from Chilean universities linked to the New Engineering for 2030 program who wish to apply may send the required documents until September 16, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. to: contacto@knowhub.cl

More information: https://knowhub.cl/fortis/