Beltdraulic: Eliminating Hydraulic Maintenance, Improving Reliability, and Enabling Predictive Maintenance in Ground Support Equipment

Reliability Improvement (Hardware)

Legacy ground support equipment suffers from significant issues due to hydraulic actuation. These issues include uncommanded motion, hydraulic fluid leaks, unplanned downtime from hydraulic failure, and difficulty operating in the cold, among others.

RISE Robotics is an original equipment manufacturer of fluid-free heavy machinery and ground support equipment. RISE has developed Beltdraulic to eliminate issues with legacy hydraulics. Beltdraulic is a fluid-free linear actuation technology that uses elevator belts configured into a block and tackle with a friction drive. Beltdraulic is 3x faster, 3x more efficient, more precise, enables predictive maintenance, operational in frigid conditions, and future-proofed for teleoperation and autonomy with its natively digital architecture.

RISE’s development of the next generation 7,000 lbs capacity aerial stores lift truck with Air Force Global Strike Command means that issues with hydraulics are eliminated. There is no uncommanded motion due to hydraulic drift, ensuring more expedient and safe weapons loading operations. Removing hydraulic fluid leaks means less slip risk with an oil-free floor creating safer working conditions. Machines are kept out of the maintenance shops with the elimination of burst hydraulic hoses and fittings. Beltdraulic’s digital architecture is the final system required to enable predictive maintenance for the entire vehicle, eliminating unplanned downtime and congested maintenance shops.

At the end of the day, this means increasing operational efficiency and lowering maintenance and manpower costs for the USAF and those who use ground support equipment.
Tradeoffs for the increased capability include a larger space claim, about 50% more volume. While the system has been validated in the lab setting and in initial pilot programs, Beltdraulic lacks widespread commercial adoption, though it is gaining traction through RISE’s component, liftgate, and defense programs due to the overwhelming benefits.

Beltdraulic is at TRL 8 in commercial applications, with pilot programs ongoing in liftgates and component sales. In the SuperJammer Lift Truck application, Beltdraulic is at TRL 6 with a system prototype demonstrated at various AFBs in 2025. RISE is on-contract to bring the entire vehicle system to near TRL 8 in 2027 with an SBIR Phase II development contract. This will include a pilot program with AFGSC across a number of AFBs with potential for demonstrations with the Navy and Marine Corps.

RISE is excited to eliminate a major maintenance issue for defense and commercial heavy machinery and ground support equipment.