GoX Labs provides the world’s most advanced all-in-one enterprise safety solution to prevent future heat, fatigue, musculoskeletal, slips/trips/falls and fitness-related injuries. It was co-founded in 2014 by Joe Hitt, Ph.D., and Bruce Floersheim, Ph.D., P.E.
Dr. Hitt, CEO of the company, is a retired, service-disabled army lieutenant colonel who became obsessed with wearable robotics and the accuracy of fitness trackers following injuries sustained while serving four years in an airborne unit. After breaking a leg, herniating disks and dislocating a shoulder in one parachute accident, Dr. Hitt learned that the first step to optimizing his rehabilitation was ensuring the tools and resources used during his recovery process had precision. Through his work at GoX Labs, Dr. Hitt concentrates on refining the accuracy of wearable devices and developing the next generation of wearable solutions to improve health and work performance.
“Advice I found especially helpful was to start your company with a partner who believes in the same values and who you trust,” says Dr. Hitt. “In my case, I started GoX Labs with my Army buddy, Bruce Floersheim and, after a decade, we have been able to build a strong partnership and an even greater friendship. Often, especially in the early years, one can become extremely discouraged after repeatedly hearing the word ‘no,’ especially when you have put everything into building your idea, even your last dollar. Looking back on my journey with GoX Labs, I firmly believe that having a friend and partner was the only reason I didn’t give up.”
In addition to leading development and commercialization at GoX Labs, Dr. Hitt is recognized nationally as an expert in wearable robotic technologies and human systems, credited with creating the world’s first bionic running leg as showcased on the Discovery Channel with a Special Forces amputee running at eight mph only four months after losing his limb.
GoX Labs is a member of the Partnership for Economic Innovation’s WearTech Applied Research Center, which has been instrumental in accelerating the development of GoX Labs’s technology through public-private partnerships, including researchers at Arizona State University. Through this partnership, GoX Labs developed a new exoskeleton for the workforce to make workplaces safer for millions of people across many industries. The wearable exoskeleton technology called PhenEx is actively helping workers squat and lift heavy loads promoting overall worker health and reducing the potential for workplace injuries.
“In 2014, wearables and artificial intelligence were seldom used to predict future injuries and prevent them,” Dr. Hill relates. “With many odds against us, we were able to streamline all processes and effectively understand how our technology solutions led to significant improvements within wearable robotics and the sectors they are used in.
“As a business-to-business company, we sell our solutions directly to large companies and have been able to withstand economic changes in the last few years and maintain our presence in the tech space as a trusted and innovative source for our clients.”
Did You Know: GoX Labs is also an Official Partner of Samsung and its preferred enterprise safety solution and was highlighted at its 2023 Global Unpacked in Seoul Korea in front of a global audience. The company also won a national Safety Innovation Award in 2023 for its heat stress prediction and prevention solution, reaching 100% success in heat injury elimination. GoX Labs has also been selected by CNA Insurance as a 2023 Allied Vendor and chosen as a preferred solution partner for its clients.
Photo courtesy of GoX Labs
