public education

WearRA Hip Exoskeleton Market – Review of Lift Assist Wearables

April 10, 2018 // 10 Comments

The Wearable Robotics Association Standards and Education Committee is proud to publish its first white paper: Hip Exoskeleton Market – Review of Lift Assist Wearables. In just a few years, hip exoskeletons for movement assistance and work have gone from being virtually unknown to being sold and used around the globe. But to the untrained [more]

And the best medical exoskeleton article for 2017 goes to Reuters!

November 2, 2017 // 3 Comments

Reuters and Suitx Me and My Robotic Suit-01

Unless something drastically changes in the last two months of 2017, the best article written regarding medical exoskeletons is not going to go to the Exoskeleton Report but to Reuters! Andrei Khalip from Reuters has written a heartfelt account of his journey to SuitX in the San Francisco Bay Area to try out the Phoenix powered gait [more]

Exoskeleton Perception by the Public, Focus on Facebook

May 11, 2017 // 2 Comments

Exoskeleton Perception on Facebook in 2017

What is the exoskeleton perception in the real world? In a time where perception can be more powerful than reality, it is important for all exoskeleton developers to know how the public really views their creations. This is a complicated question that can’t be answered without thorough research, but below is a single data point. The [more]

Highlight: EduExo Kickstarter

May 9, 2017 // 0 Comments

EduExo is on track to become the first commercially available robotic exoskeleton kit for STEM (science technology engineering and mathematics) education. The EduExo Kickstarter was approved as an all-or-nothing project, meaning it will not be funded unless it reaches the project goal by June 7th, 2017. Luckily, you now have the opportunity to [more]

Just what exactly is an exoskeleton anyways?!

March 22, 2017 // 12 Comments

Back around 2010, there were only a handful of wearable exoskeleton devices that were known to the public. For the nonfictional, they were the HULC, HAL, XOS, ReWalk and for the fictional ones, there were the Power Loader from Aliens and Iron Man. At the time, all fictional and nonfictional wearable robotic devices shared the same [more]

Introducing EduExo

February 17, 2017 // 3 Comments

EduExo is an information platform on wearable robotics technology. The organization is currently developing the first-ever robotic exoskeleton development kit. The goal is to make exoskeleton technology more accessible. The intent is for an affordable STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) kit for students, teachers, makers and [more]

How fake news impacts the exoskeleton industry.

January 18, 2017 // 0 Comments

How fake news impact the exoskeleton industry

In the wake of 2016, it seems fake news are now part of everyday life and they are here to stay. Fake news could be anything from articles written on purpose with incorrect or misleading information, or an erroneous article that is re-published by a credible source. While one normally associates fake news with politics, they are also finding [more]

Introduction to the Commercial Exoskeletons Catalog

December 5, 2016 // 2 Comments

Commercial Exoskeletons Catalog CategoriesCommercial Exoskeletons Catalog Categories

Catalog of commercial wearable exoskeletons: Target Audience Criteria Help us make this complete Other catalogs Prior work Categories, keywords, and companies Target audience: General public: There are dozens of exoskeleton products that are leaving the research and development labs and becoming commercial products. While they might not be as [more]

Making Exoskeleton Information More Accessible

October 20, 2016 // 0 Comments

Whole Foods Market Juices with complex and simple labels alternatively facing forward.

As it stands, there isn’t much information on exoskeletons that is easy to understand. The vast majority of news articles tend to mix science-fiction with reality. There are thousands of articles floating on the internet that start out well, only to be derailed by some desperate attempt to compare fact with fiction. For example, an [more]

The Exoskeleton Industry in 2016

August 18, 2016 // 3 Comments

Exoskeleton Industry and exoskeleton subfields in 2016

What is the shape of the ever growing exoskeleton industry in 2016 and what does the term mean in the first place? In 2016, exoskeleton industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. Every month one or two research groups will spinoff into a startup or a small exoskeleton company will become renowned enough to become visible internationally. [more]

Commercial Exoskeletons

August 4, 2016 // 1 Comment

Civilian and commercial exoskeletons comprise the smallest subfield of the exoskeleton industry, but they also hold the greatest commercial promise. The main potential for commercial exoskeletons is their possibility to be accepted as motorized transportation device that requires minimum infrastructure. Cars and motorcycles need paved roads to [more]

Will exoskeleton companies turn a profit by selling product or a service?

July 19, 2016 // 5 Comments

Will wearable robotics become more profitable by selling devices or a full-service package? In the near future, selling exoskeleton units will become a profitable venture. But will the profit be higher if companies focused on selling the devices instead of a complete service package that includes documentation, training, support, and service? [more]

The Difficulties in Investing in Exoskeleton Companies

June 30, 2016 // 2 Comments

Even taking Brexit into consideration, Ekso Bionics and ReWalk Robotics, two of the largest publicly traded exoskeleton companies are trading at or near all time lows. This highlights that in the current climate it is difficult to invest in exoskeleton companies. Yesterday the publicly traded exoskeleton companies closed at: ReWalk Robotics [more]

First Official LEGO Minifigure Wheelchair and Unofficial Exoskeleton

June 16, 2016 // 0 Comments

LEGO Minifigure Wheelchair and Exoskeleton

This June the LEGO Group released its first minifigure wheelchair. The wheelchair comes in set 60134 Fun in the Park – City People Pack. This is a huge development for the LEGO Group and people with disabilities. In all fairness, LEGO already has a DUPLO scale wheelchair piece, but it is still surprising that it took the company so [more]

Lack of communication is the greatest challenge to the exoskeleton industry.

May 10, 2016 // 6 Comments

I was asked by a coworker whether the FDA approval process was holding back exoskeleton rollout in the US? I answered “no.” While getting FDA approval for a medical exoskeleton is not an easy task, there are other forces that are slowing down exoskeleton development and proliferation. Last week I was asked again “what is [more]

Building In Reflexes and Closed-Loop Communication Into Exoskeleton Design

April 18, 2016 // 5 Comments

Exoskeletons to Make You Loose Your Balance And Fall

There are research-based exoskeletons in existence designed to trip up and hinder the user. Why would anyone ever build a wearable robot designed to make a person fall? I recently came across an article that explains the design process behind one type of automatic response system in exoskeletons (see article here, reference 1). In a nutshell, [more]

Silicon Valley Robot Block Party and Ideas on Educating the Public

April 14, 2016 // 0 Comments

The ExR team had the opportunity to attend the Silicon Valley Robot Block Party held in April at the Jabil Blue Sky Center in San Jose, CA. This is an annual event organized by Silicon Valley Robotics with the aim to introduce robotics and robotics technology to everyone who might be interested. Admission was free, and thousands of visitors of [more]

Ekso-Bash: Trashing Ekso Bionics’ Image and Lessons Learned

June 3, 2015 // 1 Comment

When talking or writing about exoskeletons as medical devices, it is normally done in a positive tone of voice. A reader researching the medical robotics market should be left with the impression that progress is made and new technologies will soon become available to improve the quality of life for people suffering from various mobility [more]

Overselling the Dream of Personal Use Exoskeletons

March 8, 2015 // 3 Comments

Maintaining a consistent public message of what modern exoskeleton technology can and can’t do in the media is a tricky business. Present exoskeleton capabilities in a methodical and conservative fashion and you risk not generating any interest or excitement. Exaggerate or oversell the current capabilities of exoskeleton technology and [more]