About Hyprlift
Hyprlift, Inc. is a U.S.-headquartered global technology company introducing an advanced mobility system that’s reshaping the way buildings are designed and how people move within them.
The Hyprlift system is comprised of a network of autonomous electric vehicles using an AI-driven traffic management system to navigate through vertical and horizontal pathways.
A radical departure from legacy elevators, Hyprlift delivers step-change advancements in handling capacity, operating efficiency, and architectural design flexibility.
Team
James Hutchinson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Seeking to revolutionize the industry he has been a part of for three decades, serial entrepreneur James Hutchinson conceptualized the Hyprlift self-propelled elevator cab and founded Hyprlift, Inc. in April 2019. As a 30-year veteran of business development and enterprise sales in the vertical transportation technologies space, preceded by eight years as a mechanical design engineer, James sought to combine his past and present skillsets to become a driving force for radical innovation in an industry that’s not seen significant innovation in over 150 years.
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Daniel Johnson, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Daniel Johnson is Hyprlift’s Chief Technology Officer. In this leadership role, Dan is responsible for guiding the overall design and development of the Hyprlift system. Dan was instrumental in providing the foundational engineering design and modeling work behind Hyprlift’s revolutionary dynamic-tractive drive system. He also led the effort to secure funding to construct a proof-of-concept prototype through an SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation.
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Avery Jutkowitz
Head of Control Systems Engineering
As Head of Control Systems Engineering, Avery Jutkowitz is responsible for the design and development of Hyprlift’s controls and electronic systems architecture. With over 25 years of experience developing innovative, next-generation automated control systems, Avery brings a vast amount of relevant knowledge and expertise to the Hyprlift team.
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Ronald Schoolcraft
Head of Powertrain Engineering
As Head of Powertrain Engineering, Ronald Schoolcraft is responsible for the design and development of Hyprlift’s dynamic-tractive drive powertrain and suspension system. Ron brings to the Hyprlift team over 35 years of power transmission industry experience from a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, industrial, agricultural, construction, marine, drilling, and defense.
Read MoreAdvisory Council
Randy Wilcox
Randy retired as President Americas for industry-leader Otis Elevator Company. During his 32 years with Otis he served as President Americas, President South Asia Pacific Area, as well as held numerous other positions. Today Randy assists those looking to invest in the elevator industry and serves on the board of directors of the largest independent elevator service company in North America. He also serves on several other for-profit and non-profit boards outside the elevator industry.
Peter Weismantle, FAIA RIBA
Prior to founding his own consultancy firm, Peter was the Director of Supertall Building Technology at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture for 12 years, preceded by 31 years as an Associate Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. During his distinguished career, Peter was the senior technical architect for several world-renowned supertall building projects including Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the world’s tallest building, and the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, currently under construction but when completed will surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building.
Joseph Neto
Joe is the Vice President-Key Accounts for VDA Elevator Consulting, a leader in the elevator consultancy space. Over the course of his career, Joe has consulted on many iconic high-rise building projects including Hudson Yards, the largest commercial real estate development project in U.S. history. With over 35 years of elevator industry experience, Joe is regarded as an expert in his field evidenced by his many industry-related licenses and certifications.
James Fortune
Jim is the founder and principal partner at Fortune Shepler Saling (FS2), a leading consultancy firm in the vertical transportation industry. Jim’s reputation as the world’s foremost expert on supertall buildings was earned as a result of his consulting on the world’s tallest buildings including Taipei 101 in Taiwan, the IFC and ICC towers in China, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the Jeddah Tower, currently under construction in Saudi Arabia. Drawing on over 40 years of elevator industry experience, Jim has authored many technical papers and spoken at industry events about advancements in elevator technology.
Professor Mark Cutkosky, PhD
Mark is head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford University. Mark applies analyses, simulations, and experiments to the design and control of robotic hands, tactile sensors, and devices for human/computer interaction. His research work at Stanford includes the development of patented technology for scaling smooth vertical surfaces using anisotropic frictional materials, a.k.a. gecko-inspired dry adhesives.
News
07-17-23 Hyprlift Inc. receives $1M SBIR Phase II grant awarded from the National Science Foundation to design and build a full-scale Hyprlift self-propelled elevator cab.
09-15-22 Hyprlift Inc. opens it’s new R&D facility in Santa Clara, California where it’s self-propelled autonomous elevator cabs will be assembled and tested.
02-26-22 Osvaldo Enriquez joins Hyprlift Inc. as Control Systems Engineer. Ozzy brings to the team a high-level of competence in the areas of motion control systems design and software development.
02-01-22 Dr. Daniel Johnson PhD accepts the position of Chief Technology Officer at Hyprlift Inc. In this leadership role, Dan is responsible for guiding the overall design and development of the Hyprlift system. Dan was Hyprlift’s Lead Mechanical Engineer since 04-10-19.