Marine Mojo – Passive Exoskeleton Spotlight

The company Twenty Knots Plus (20KTS+) is developing a creative new exoskeleton: the Marine Mojo.  The Marine Mojo is a passive, single task exoskeleton with a specialized target market.  It absorbs the shocks and vibrations from standing on fast moving, small water crafts.  These types of speed boats are often used by the military, Coastguard, police and wildlife government agencies to patrol bays and rivers.  If you have ever been on a small boat that is moving quickly, you know that the bumps and vibrations of the ride start to add-up.  If sitting down on a speeding boat causes discomfort, standing up causes a lot of strain and stress on the knees.  Patrol boats require the crew to be standing up during lengthy excursions, in both calm and choppy waters, resulting in fatigue and injury on the knees.

How is the Marine Mojo different from other exoskeleton products?

1. The Marine Mojo has a crystal clear function: it provides relief from muscle fatigue which decreases the probability of injury and increases the alertness of the crew on small, fast patrol boats.
2. This is a wearable robot, and like all robots, the higher the environmental constraints, the better the robot will perform.  It is very creative to market an exoskeleton that will always be operated on a small boat and nowhere else.  The design engineers knew exactly the environment the device has to operate in.
3. The Marine Mojo is a new iteration of the Ski~Mojo.  The design team of 2oKTS+ are not re-inventing the wheel, but instead adapting a well-tested and proven design.
4. The Marine Mojo is a passive exoskeleton, therefore has no electronics, sensors or motors.  The device is much cheaper to manufacture, maintain and own.
5. This wearable is marketable.  A single knee repair can cost over $100,000 of medical fees for a navy, which will equate to dozens if not hundreds of Marine Mojos.

The Marine Mojo is a shock absorbing system that reduces the vertical forces on the knees due to bumps and vibration on small water craft.  The entire device weighs only 1 kg.  The exoskeleton does not have its own foot plate, but instead connects to the sailor’s boots in a way similar to the older Ski~Mojo connection to ski boots.  Finally the Marine Mojo fits over standard marine gear.

Showcase:

In 2015, the Marine Mojo was demonstrated at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC 2015) in Tampa Florida.  The conference attracts hundreds of companies that showcase products potentially useful to the military (Revision Military’s Kinetic Operations Suit was also on display there).   While at SOFIC, the Marine Mojo was also presented at the Tactical Assault Light Operators Suit (TALOS) Project.  The exoskeleton is also featured in the Defence Procurement International Journal Summer 2015 on Exoskeletons; Total Performance or Niche Solutions (Summer 2015, pg 117-122).

Outlook:

“We have worked very hard to get to this point and lab testing has shown massive benefits… We are currently running assessment with a number of Navies which is providing useful feedback for some potential tweaks to the design. But as the majority of the system is COTS [Commercial Of The Shelf], the development of the MARINE MOJO as a MOTS [Modified/Military Of The Shelf] system is virtually finished.” – Jonathan Hill, Director at KTS+

20KTS+ have a real chance to be the first exoskeleton company to achieve commercial success with the Marine Mojo exoskeleton.

For more information on the Marine Mojo, visit the 20KTS+ website: http://www.20knots-plus.com/marine-mojo/

For more on the Ski~Mojo, head over to their website at http://www.skimojo.com