Exoskeleton (Industrial and Rehabilitative)

HumansInMotion400x275Canada’s Human in Motion Robotics, Inc., (HMR) has announced it was awarded a $499,828 ($663,000 Canadian) contract by Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) for the Department of National Defence Canada (DND). The contract allows the Canadian government to purchase two units of HMR’s next-generation lower-limb exoskeleton, XoMotion, a wearable robot designed to get people out of wheelchairs and walking again with full mobility and independence.

 

GermanBionic Lift400x275German Bionic, which is developing smart power suit exoskeletons, has entered into a cooperation agreement with Mubea, a German firm that specializes in manufacturing lightweight products and manufacturing technologies. By commencing production for the development of robotic exoskeletons, Mubea said it is tapping into a new and extremely promising future sector, with a projected market volume of $12.5 billion by 2030.

 

RE2 Sarcos400x275Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation has announced a definitive merger agreement with Pittsburgh-based RE2 Inc., which develops autonomous and teleoperated mobile robotic systems for use in the aviation, construction, defense and medical industries. The transaction is $100 million, consisting of $30 million in cash and $70 million of Sarcos common stock.

 

InnophysEurope400x275Japan’s Innophys Co., a venture company associated with the Tokyo University of Science, has announced it is deploying its wearable work-assisting robotic suite, known as the “Muscle Suit,” to five countries in the European Union – Poland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Last  year, the company launched the suite in Italian markets.

 

GermanBionic 5genCrayX 400x275German Bionic, which develops connected robotic exoskeletons, has announced the fifth generation of its Cray X power suit. The exoskeleton will ship worldwide in early 2022, and will be demonstrated at next month’s CES in Las Vegas.

 

IFR MIR 400x275The International Federation of Robotics has reported that the market of professional service robots worldwide has reached $6.7 billion, up 12% compared with 2020. At the same time, sales of new consumer service robots grew 16% to $4.4 billion. The figures are part of the IFR’s World Robotics 2021 report.

 

OttobockSuitX 400x275Ottobock, which develops prosthetics, orthotics and exoskeletons, has announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares of suitX, a U.S.-based company that spun out of the Robotics and Human Engineering Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, and was developing occupational and medical exoskeletons. The combination of the companies will look to advance the exoskeleton market to foster the worldwide adoption of exoskeletons, the companies said in a statement.

 

FestoMassRobotics400x275MassRobotics and Festo have announced the first four robotics companies participating in the Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst program. The program designed for the global robotics community aims to advance healthcare developments by providing promising companies with investor and customer introductions, access to subject-matter experts, and a range of technical and marketing support resources.

 

IKO techpaper crossed bearings400x275Robots and exoskeletons are seen as a big way to address the growing need for post-stroke rehabilitation, given that deaths caused by strokes are decreasing, and approximately 700,000 people survive a stroke.

 

SarcosGuardianDX SenSuit400x275Sarcos Robotics and T-Mobile have announced a collaboration to integrate T-Mobile 5G connectivity into the Sarcos Guardian XT mobile industrial robot. The Guardian XT is a remote-controlled robotic system designed to help humans safely work in hazardous conditions, performing tasks such as lifting heavy materials or using power tools at significant heights. With the 5G integration, the companies said they aim to improve performance and response time for remote operations, allowing robots to perform tasks more quickly and more in tune with their operator’s movements.

 

Verve400x275Wearable robotics startup Verve Motion has announced it raised $15 million in Series A funding. The company is developing a new class of connected wearable technology for the industrial sector by integrating robotics into functional apparel.

 

SarcosTreeDemo400x275Sarcos Robotics, which develops robotic systems that augment humans for productivity and safety tasks, has announced a successful demonstration of its SenSuit controller garment. As part of its technologies designed for enhanced teleoperation of the Guardian XT mobile robotic system, the demonstration leveraged Sarcos’ proprietary motion caption controller to enable enhanced teleoperation of the robot’s dexterous arms. 

 

InnophysMuscleSuit400x275Innophys Co. Ltd. has announced it will release the wearable, work-assisting robot suit known as “MUSCLE SUIT Every” to Italy as part of its efforts to promote sales of the product overseas, particularly in European Union member countries.

 

EksoNR 400x275Ekso Bionics Holdings, which develops exoskeleton technology for medical and industrial usages, has announced expanding its partnership with Kindred Healthcare. The expansion will bring EksoNR, its robotic exoskeleton, to four of Kindred’s long-term acute care (LTAC) hospitals in the U.S. The multi-unit order follows a successful pilot program of the EksoNR last year, the company said.

 

GermanBionic400x275German Bionic, which manufactures smart power suits for industrial applications, has announced that functional updates can be performed via wireless remote transmission. The German Bionic OS, which connects the power suits to the cloud, makes this possible, the Augsburg, Germany-based company said in a statement.

 

HarmonicBionics400x275Harmonic Bionics, a robotics company that aims to augment human movement, has announced closing $7 million in Series A funding. The new funds will support the company’s clinical research efforts and enable an increase in product development to bringing its advanced upper extremity rehabilitation technology to market.