INDI Global: Enhancing The Contemporary Human Experience
Who Are INDI Global?
Established by Jesús Tamez-Duque in 2012, INDI Global is an interactive technology studio dedicated to making incredible progress for science and engineering.
Using a range of components from Accu, this vastly growing team of engineers produce accessible and empowering machinery intended to enhance the contemporary human experience.
With projects ranging from robotics to brain-technology and wearable systems, INDI Global takes a human-centred approach to mechanics and electronics to research new ideas in the name of innovation and societal progress.
We had the opportunity to hear from Jesús Tamez-Duque, Founder and President, who shared the story behind INDI, why the team uses Accu components, and the challenges they have faced in their journey.
Creating Impactful Technologies
Collaborating with universities and private companies across the world, the interactive tech studio works to transform powerful ideas into new and impactful technologies.
It was the potential of these ideas, and the effect that new technology could have on society, that inspired the launch of INDI Global over a decade ago.
Jesús reflected, “The original driver was the idea that a great number of existing technologies could easily create increased impact if they were appropriately adapted to the context and problems of developing societies. The project became a technology-development studio focused on doing just that with a focus on robotics and human-machine interfaces.”
Since then, INDI Global has flourished, growing their practices and working with more universities and private companies every year to achieve their ideas.
Aiming to broaden their efforts, to integrate a higher number of novel technologies and to create new products, in 2019, INDI made the move from Mexico to France.
Making this move has opened an abundance of opportunities, allowing the organisation to serve Universities and Research Centres within Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Not only that, but in this move INDI Global also opted to make their work open-source, i.e., it is freely available for other engineers to use and adapt, making it possible for large scale positive impact.
This is just one of the reasons why this company is doing exceptional things for the future of engineering.
Shaping The Future Through Technological Design
Rich with skilled engineers and scientists, INDI Global really are at the cutting edge of engineering.
Taking a concept from onset to completion, the team ventures through various stages of prototyping and field implementation to research and develop new technologies.
When scouting for a new idea, the team aims to find projects with important social value where the project will act as an engineering solution to solve current problems.
To kick start their concept-to-market process, INDI, together with the business or university, explore the idea and its potential, planning the stages for development accordingly.
With the plan underway, the team will enter the stages of hardware and software prototyping which are imperative to the success of the project.
The prototypes will offer a clear view of how the idea will work in practice where constraints can be identified and ideas can be adapted.
Consistently striving for high quality assemblies, these prototypes are built with a range of robust and reliable components, including a range of fasteners, washers and nuts from Accu.
Jesús Tamez-Duque shared, “We use Accu Bolts, Washers, and Nuts for all our prototypes and machines due to the consistency in quality and shipping speed as well as due to how easy it is to select the appropriate component for each task.”
He also reflected on the challenges that the team had faced in planning and designing their products, “We used to have a lot of trouble finding the exact bolts we needed or knowing if the ones we chose would really have all the specifications we wanted, but Accu's thoroughness in including as many mechanical specifications as possible - and in having a wide variety of options - makes it a lot less stressful to design new prototypes knowing we will be able to easily get the bolts we need.”
With a clear focus on human-centred engineering, high quality and reliable components are essential for a successful product. With quality components readily available on short lead times, Accu is delighted to be able to support engineers building tomorrow.
Once an accurate representation of design is established, INDI can commence field implementation to ensure that the technology will have the desired impact. In this stage, the product is tested with real people outside of the lab to determine its usability.
The Open-Source Exoskeleton
Through the potential of modern engineering and incredible design INDI Global has achieved great success with many new technologies, such as augmented reality taste and stimulation through art.
In recent years, INDI has been developing open-source robotic exoskeletons powered by a combination of mechanical and technological engineering. Making great progress for rehabilitation applications, these exoskeletons have the ability to aid in the care of patients who have suffered neurological damage.
With motor features within the joints, alongside other electronic components mounted to the structure of the legs, the exoskeleton can generate movement.
The exoskeleton also has contact interfaces supporting the user in multiple touchpoints in the hips and legs. In doing so, this visionary form of modern engineering can help the patient regain strength in parts of their body where they have no function. The exoskeleton offers assistance to recover mobility helping in the performance of tasks such as walking, sitting and standing.
Not only is this design wondrous for rehabilitation but it also comes with great potential for education; being open-source, students can use this technology for research bringing the opportunity to develop these ideas even further.
Reflecting on the future of INDI Global, and their plans for further technologies developed with Accu’s components, Jesús shared, “We are currently working to produce increased numbers of Exoskeleton prototypes, specifically, and it is important for us to have reliable suppliers that will allow us to keep production going; we are happy to work with Accu for our wearable robots because they are just that.
We are currently producing lower-limb exoskeletons for children in low-income communities as well as lower-limb adult rehabilitators. We expect to soon finalise new exoskeleton designs for the upper-body for both adults and children, and we definitely expect to use Accu components for those too.”
By leveraging their expertise and innovation, there is no doubt that INDI Global has, and will continue to have, an incredible impact on the development of new technologies. Accu is proud to support these inspiring engineers and thrilled to be a part of their existing and future exhilarating projects.
You can find more information about INDI Global and their recent projects by heading to their website, here.