Physical human augmentation is not uncommon at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. Many electronic devices go beyond communication and are not afraid to move us: robotics, haptic or force feedback systems, smart fitness equipment, and, over the last decade, exoskeletons (sometimes called exosuits or wearable robotics). The 2025 CES was an unprecedented year for exoskeleton technology in terms of companies in attendance and awards.
CES 2025 Exoskeleton Awards:
Medical:
On the medical side, the Canadian startup Human in Motion Robotics impressed with its self-balancing walking-assist powered exoskeleton. Unlike most gait-assist wearable robots, the XoMotion does not require crutches, leaving the user’s hands-free to perform useful tasks. The company was a CES 2025 Honoree in Robotics and USA TODAY’s 50 Top Picks for CES 2025.
Staying with the medical exoskeleton theme, South Korea’s HUROTICS Inc. won the innovation award in Accessibility & AgeTech, Robotics for the H-Medi, a more classical-looking AI-driven wearable robot designed to counteract gait disorders.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University also became a 2025 Honoree in Accessibility & AgeTech for its novel Mobile Ankle-foot Exoneuromusculoskeleton, combining soft pneumatic muscles, muscle electric stimulation, and sensory feedback into a single battery-powered wearable system.
While Wandercraft did not exhibit at CES 2025, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang featured the medical exoskeleton in the opening keynote, marking a tremendous win in popularizing exoskeleton technology.
Consumer:
Hypershell’s Carbon X-powered hip exoskeleton for hiking and exercise received a 2025 Best of Innovation in Robotics recognition. The company has come a long way since its 2023 Kickstarter campaign, which took the technical world by storm.
Simultaneously, the South Korean WIRobotics was also recognized in the Robotics category for its WIM exoskeleton, a small, portable unit that attaches to the front like a fanny pack. This makes the wearable ideal for hikers, as the system does not interfere with backpacks.
Industrial:
Having already won an award last year, German Bionic used the opportunity to release a new version of its back-support powered hip exoskeleton: the Apogee ULTRA, marketed as the “World’s Most Powerful” mass-produced exoskeleton. The Apogee Ultra can provide up to 80 lbs (36 kg) of lifting support.
Fleshing Out the List of Presenters:
In total, more than ten exoskeleton companies and universities presented exoskeleton products at the 2025 CES. The Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan will exhibit two novel exoskeletons. The first was KneeBO, a portable knee joint exoskeleton meant for lower-limb muscle training and walking improvement. The second one was HipBO an independent lightweight hip joint function assistance device derived from lower-limb exoskeleton robots.
Cosmo Robotics, formerly ExoAtlet and maker of both occupational and medical exoskeletons, was also a presenter at CES 2025, as were ULS Robotics and OYMotion Technologies.
This year, CES had the largest selection of exoskeleton products on display. As a product family, exo devices swept 1% of all the awards at the show. This represents a visible growth and maturation of this new technology field of physical human augmentation, which can potentially improve the lives of workers, the mobility impaired, and the elderly.
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