Exoskeleton Report

09/08/2026

🎙️ Episode 33 is out! This time, we’re getting to know the person who usually asks the questions: our co-host, Dr. Tom Sugar.

How do you go from cars and waterproof shoes to powered prosthetic ankles and exoskeletons? Tom takes us through the projects, experiments, and unexpected turns that brought him into wearable robotics.

“Walking with Springs, Part 1” features rehabilitation robots, SPARKy, Air Legs, and JTAR—including archival demonstrations of wearable robots running, jumping, and navigating obstacles.
We talked for more than an hour and still only covered the early part of his career!

Watch the video, listen to the audio, or browse the illustrated story on Exoskeleton Report:

https://exoskeletonreport.com/2026/09/walking-with-springs-part-1-the-early-projects-that-shaped-dr-thomas-sugars-career-in-wearable-robotics/

09/01/2026

🎙️ Episode 32 is out, and this one became a real trip down memory lane.

Ten Years of Wearable Robotics: Where Are the WearRA Innovation Challenge Winners Now?! We revisit all seven WearRA Innovation Challenges held from 2016 through 2022 and ask what happened after the prototype demonstrations, four-minute pitches, jury votes, and audience awards.

We look back at:

🦾 HART Lab at UC Berkeley, with Robert Matthew now at UCSI University

🦾 Volker Bartenbach’s EduExo—winner of both the judges’ and audience awards—and its journey toward commercialization, followed by the creation of Auxivo

🦾 Aalborg Universitet’s Compact X-scissors Device and how its shoulder technology continued through LIFTYA

🦾 Atlas by Japet Exosquelettes, along with GripX and audience favorite Project PawsAble

🦾 Arizona State University’s soft robotic ankle-foot orthosis, SR-AFO

🦾 ’s adaptive fracture-casting system

🦾 XtremedX/TAPinsole’s temperature-and-pressure sensing insole for diabetic-foot monitoring

Some projects became products or companies. Others remained influential research. All of them added something to the wearable-robotics community.

A big thank-you to Bruce Floersheim, Amy Gallagher, the judges, sponsors, organizers, and every team that had the courage to present an early idea in front of the field.

Watch the video, listen to the podcast, and read the full overview:

https://exoskeletonreport.com/2026/08/ten-years-of-wearable-robotics-where-are-the-wearra-innovation-challenge-winners-now/

Which winner or concept stands out most to you?

I can safely say that this is one of our best podcast episodes yet! Checking in ten years after the first WearRAcon Innovation Challenge! In Episode 32 of the Robotics […]

08/13/2026

🎉 The Exoskeletons and Wearable Robotics Podcast has reached 5,000 downloads across audio podcast platforms!

Across 30 published episodes, Dr. Tom Sugar and I have had the opportunity to speak with researchers, engineers, clinicians, company leaders, end users, and many others helping to move exoskeletons and wearable robotics forward. Every episode is available in both video and audio formats, so you can watch the conversations on YouTube or listen through your preferred podcast platform.

I feel very fortunate that Tom and I have been able to continue this effort together. Thank you to all the wonderful guests who have shared their time, expertise, stories, and candid perspectives - and to everyone who has listened, watched, shared an episode, recommended a guest, or sent us feedback.

A special thank-you to our Patreon subscribers for supporting the podcast, and to George Woodland, our producer, for everything he does behind the scenes to help bring each episode together.

We will have new recording slots opening for guests very soon, and we look forward to continuing these conversations with more of the people building, studying, evaluating, implementing, and using wearable robotics.

Thank you for helping us reach 5,000!

08/07/2026

It has been a while since Exoskeleton Report featured a guest article, and this one raises an important challenge for the entire industry:

A prototype can work. A pilot can succeed. The hardware can be technically impressive - and the exoskeleton can still be nowhere close to becoming standard equipment.

Guest author Rita Vazquez-TorresRita Vazquez-Torres explains why adoption among firefighters, law enforcement officers, military personnel, and other frontline responders depends on much more than engineering performance.

The technology must earn trust, fit existing equipment and operating procedures, survive real-world conditions, navigate fragmented procurement systems, and become accepted within deeply established professional cultures.

Her argument is not that exoskeleton technology does not work. It is that technology readiness and market readiness are often badly out of sync.

Read the full guest article on Exoskeleton Report:

https://exoskeletonreport.com/2026/08/a-working-exoskeleton-is-not-enough-human-centered-design-culture-procurement-and-trust/

Guest author Rita Vazquez-Torres draws on her decades of experience to explain why successful pilots and capable hardware are still far from standard issue for soldiers, firefighters, law-enforcement officers, and […]

06/21/2026

Hypershell Adventure Days is bringing Prime Day-style savings to outdoor exoskeletons.

The sale features savings of up to $800, with full Adventure Days offers unlocking June 23. For hikers, travelers, outdoor photographers, and anyone interested in the future of consumer wearable robotics, this is one to watch.

Read the full sponsored article on Exoskeleton Report:
https://exoskeletonreport.com/2026/06/hypershell-adventure-days-hypershell-prime-day-sale-save-up-to-800/

Hypershell Adventure Days brings Prime Day-style retail behavior to outdoor exoskeletons; early access to X Carbon, full offers unlock June 23.

06/10/2026

New article on Exoskeleton Report:

China’s Silver Economy Helps Draw RMB ¥1.8B+ (US$270M+) Into Exoskeletons as Everyday Mobility Technology

We put together an English reader’s guide to a Chinese-language AgeClub / 36Kr article about exoskeletons, aging, and China’s “silver economy.”

The original article looks at exoskeletons from a different angle: not just as medical or industrial devices, but as everyday mobility technology for older adults, families, scenic areas, elder-care services, and consumer health platforms.

Our guide includes translated company names, ExR directory mappings, and a breakdown of the 2025–May 2026 investment activity behind companies such as Fourier, RoboCT, Hypershell, EULON, ULS Robotics, Buffalo Robot, MileBot, and DaAi Robot.

This also connects back to something ExR has been writing about since 2017: exoskeletons are not only about productivity or rehabilitation. They can also be about preserving mobility, independence, and quality of life.

Read it here:

A translated guide to China’s silver-economy exoskeleton investment article, including company names, ExR mappings.

06/02/2026

Exoskeletons are usually discussed in terms of reducing strain and supporting physical work. But there is another important question: how comfortable are they to wear?

Because exoskeletons attach to the body with straps, cuffs, sleeves, harnesses, and textiles, they can also trap heat. That may create an opening for a new exoskeleton-adjacent product category: personal cooling.

This article looks at evaporative cooling clothing, Peltier/thermoelectric devices, and wearable climate-control systems - and why they could matter for future exoskeleton adoption.

Read the article:

Personal cooling devices and clothing could help exoskeletons become more wearable by improving thermal comfort, controls, and workplace adoption.

05/29/2026

Certain DoD-funded developmental exoskeletons are now identified as sensitive military technology under USML Category X for ITAR purposes. This is not “all exoskeletons are ITAR,” but it is a major signal for the wearable robotics industry. https://exoskeletonreport.com/2026/05/from-back-belt-skepticism-to-itar-exoskeletons-just-crossed-a-regulatory-line/

Certain DoD-funded developmental exoskeletons are now subject to ITAR controls

05/15/2026

Fourier Rehab’s GReAT Summit 2026 brought together clinicians, researchers, and technology leaders in Shanghai to explore the future of intelligent rehabilitation.

Highlights included updates to the ExoMotus M4 lower-limb exoskeleton, new partnerships with Nagoya University and NHG Health, and a broader rehabilitation ecosystem spanning exoskeletons, humanoid robotics, cognitive training, and connected-care platforms.

Read the Exoskeleton Report recap:
https://exoskeletonreport.com/2026/05/fourier-rehabs-great-summit-2026-highlights-rehabilitation-robotics-exomotus-m4-updates-and-new-global-partnerships/

Fourier Rehab held the Global Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Network (GReAT) Summit 2026 from May 13 to 15 at Fourier Shanghai Headquarters, bringing together clinicians, researchers, industry leaders, and rehabilitation […]

05/12/2026

A new episode of The Exoskeleton Report Podcast is now available!
In Episode 28: “Not a Sales Pitch – An Exoskeleton Engineer Puts Consumer Exos to the Test,” Bobby Marinov is joined by Dr. Tom Sugar after a day and a half of hands-on testing with several consumer hip exoskeletons.
The conversation covers what these devices feel like in real-world use, how they perform on ramps, stairs, inclines, and cycling, where they still fall short, and whether consumer exoskeletons could become something like “e-bikes for your legs.”
Listen on the Exoskeleton Report website or on any major podcast platform:
https://exoskeletonreport.com/2026/05/episode-28-not-a-sales-pitch-an-exoskeleton-engineer-puts-consumer-exos-to-the-test/

Powered exoskeletons for less than $1,000: are they toys, gimmicks, the real deal, or something in between? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Tom Sugar after a day […]